First Impressions: Haku's Training Days
by 2Face's Number 1 Fan
Summary: What happened before and after Haku had died on the Great Naruto Bridge? This is what I think was going on in Haku's life, before and after. It skips around his life a bit, but I worked hard! Chapter 32 the final chapter is finally released! R AND R!
1. The First Impression

_**First Impressions: Zabuza and Little Haku.**_

Zabuza wasn't sure of taking this little boy into his home. After all, kids could be trouble. Little Haku was also nervous about it. Haku had said thank you about a million times, and had promised Zabuza that he'd be a good little boy, and was trembling with joy or excitement, Zabuza couldn't tell which.

Zabuza opened the door to his hideout, and Haku lingered at the doorway for a moment before nervously stepping in. He scraped the mud off of his shoes before coming in, and that suprised Zabuza. Zabuza silently disapproved of Haku's mannerful ways. He wasn't sure he wanted a goody-goody little boy living in his home. Haku hesitated before taking off his shoes and stood next to Zabuza with a strange look in his eyes.

"What is it, Kid?" Zabuza asked in a harsher tone than he had intended.

Little Haku gulped, and backed off. "Sorry, Sir." He said. Then, out of pure joy and gratefulness, Haku rushed back up to Zabuza and hugged his knee. Zabuza cried out in disgust and shook little Haku off of him. Haku blushed and once again backed off, but still kept smiling at Zabuza.

"Don't try to charm me with your cuteness, because it wont work, little boy." Zabuza said sternly to him. "I'm a ninja warrior, not your giant stuffed teddy bear," He harumphed. Haku nodded, but still kept on grinning.

"And please, don't walk around here with that stupid little smile on your face, boy." Zabuza went on grumpily, and kept staring at little Haku.

Haku instantly dropped the grin, but a happy look still lingered in his eyes. Haku didn't smile, but he didn't frown at all. He was far from sad. Zabuza sighed.

"Stop looking at me like that," Zabuza moaned. He didn't like the look in Haku's big puppy-like eyes.

In general, a normal adult would think that the look in little Haku's eyes was adorable, but Zabuza, on the other hand, thought that it was almost scary.

"Okay, Sir. Haku resumed to keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Alright, boy. We're going to set some ground rules here. Number 1: No bedtime stories, no hugs, no kisses, no snuggle time, or any of that little kid stuff, okay? I will get very irritated." Zabuza paused as Haku nodded politley.

"Okay. Second rule: Don't you_ ever, ever EVER, _even _think _of wetting your sheets. There are serious consequenses for little boys who do that around here. Because I'm not going to change your sheets just because you forgot to go to the toilet before bed." Zabuza said sternly. "Hopefully, we don't have to go into further discussion about that matter."

Little Haku began to giggle. "Don't worry, sir. I won't wet the bed." He chortled.

Zabuza shot Haku a suspicious look. "Let's hope you don't. Okay: Rule 3: Never leave this hideout without my permission. There will be consequenses for that, too."

"Yes, Sir!" Haku said.

"Okay, Rule Number Four: This is the most important rule. _Never, ever ever, ever_ touch my sword. I swear, boy...if I _EVER_ catch you doing that..." Zabuza warned.

"...There will be serious consequenses?" Haku looked up at Zabuza for approval. Zabuza merely nodded.

Haku raised his hand to speak. Zabuza rolled his eyes. "You don't need to raise your hand to speak, Haku." He said. "Do you have a question?"

"Um...well, I wanna know what you mean by "serious consequences", Sir." Haku said shyly, obviously embarassed for asking such a question. Then he quickly added, "Not that I'd ever break the rules, or anything, Sir."

"You really don't want to know." Zabuza cackled in a dark voice, which sent an unpleasant shiver down Haku's spine.

"I don't want to know?" Haku looked suprised.

"You most certainly don't." Zabuza said. Then, Zabuza leaned right in Haku's face and smirked behind his mask. "That is, unless you want me to give you an example of what those certain punishments are."

Haku started to tremble. "No thank you, Sir. You don't have to show me, Sir." He said quietly.

"You sure?"

"Yes, sir." Haku said carefully.

"Okay, then. I hope that answers your question. Now, are you a qualified ninja?" Zabuza asked.

"Yes, but I'm only a genin, Sir," Haku blushed and smiled again.

Zabuza sighed and put his head in his hands. "Arrgh..." He moaned. "Now that I've taken the time to meet you, you seem pretty worthless to me. After all, you do look pretty weak." He said.

Little Haku looked upset and started to sniffle.

Zabuza sighed. "Okay, okay, Crybaby, we'll see if you can keep up with my training. I'm not just going to let you stay here while you do nothing, so always be ready to fight. You will be carrying out missions untill the day you die, got it?" Zabuza said harshly.

"Um...yes, Zabuza-Sir. I'll always do my best to make you proud." Haku said with a nervous twitch in his eye.

"I'm not sure I like the way you said that," Zabuza scolded. "You seem tense and nervous. I don't think you can handle it."

"Well, I've never trained or fought a day in my life," Haku said quietly. "Even though I have a Kekkei Genkai, I've always...just knew. I've never really used it before in battle. I don't know anything."

"Then your training starts tomorrow. No matter how harsh it gets for you, or no matter how tired and sweaty you get, I'll drag you through the steps if I have to." Zabuza said.

"Okay, Sir. I'll try my best. Even if I've never done anything ninja-related before, I'll do whatever it takes. I have my senbon as a trusty weapon, but I have to admit, my aim is pretty weak." Haku sighed.

"First thing in the morning: We train."

"Okay, Sir." Haku said.

"Alright, that's settled. Now, you're room is the spare one in the back. It has a bed, dresser, lamp, chest..." Zabuza droned on. "Now, how do parents keep little brats like you busy?" Zabuza asked, putting one hand on his hip.

"That's okay, Sir. I wont need anything to keep me occupied. Thanks anyway." Haku said politley. Zabuza just grunted and stalked off to do whatever in his own room.

_**A Few Hours Later...**_

Haku saw Zabuza at the kitchen table, sitting in a wooden chair, reading a recent copy of _Hidden Mist Daily, _which was the Hidden Mist Village's newspaper. Zabuza was chuckling to himself as he was reading the obituaries. He must have been happy about one of his enemy's deaths. That sent another chill up little Haku's spine.

Haku overcame his fear and sat down at the other end of the table. Zabuza stopped snickering, put down the newspaper, and looked at Haku with a mean and frightening look in his eyes.

"Need something, Kid?" Zabuza asked.

"Not nessesarily, Sir." Haku gulped. "I just...well, wanted to chat."

"Chat?" Zabuza couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Uh, yes Sir. I just wanted to start a converstaion with you. Get to know you a little better." Haku started squirming in his chair. He would have left right there and then, but he hadn't had a regular conversation with anybody in a long, long time. It was uncomfortable to talk to such a harsh, brutal, rouge ninja, but he had to talk to somebody.

"Whatever, do what you want." Zabuza said. "Just don't poison my mind with fairy tales and rainbows." He snickered, picking up his paper again. Now, Zabuza was interested in reading the comics, which he read with a serious and determined look on his face.

"Well, sir...what's your favorite color?" Haku said as if he were talking to another seven-year-old.

"Maroon." Zabuza said stonily.

"Ooh. That's interesting. Actually, I have many favorite colors. My favorites are green, pink, and gold." Haku said.

"Uh-huh." Zabuza was barely listening to Haku.

Haku chuckled. "Isn't it funny that gold is a mineral as well as it's own color?" He asked Zabuza.

"Whatever. Can we hurry this up now? This is a very premature converstaion. I feel like an idiot already." Zabuza growled.

Haku thought of a more mature subject to talk about. "When's your birthday?"

"Kid, please." Zabuza moaned.

"My birthday is on January 9th. It passed by about six months ago. It's pretty suprising, but I remember my second birthday, when all of my little friends were there, and we played tons of games and it was alot of fun." Haku said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"How old are you, like, four years old? Because a much older and wiser person would probably notice that this stupid "converstaion" is really starting to bug me." Zabuza sighed.

"I'm actually seven years old. I'm small for my age." Haku said. "But I don't think I'm _that_ small..." Haku suddenly looked hurt.

"Whatever, kid. Can you just leave me alone, please? Go pick your little nose, jump on your bed, bounce off the walls, run into a wall, I don't care, just go and do something to entertain yourself, okay, boy?" Zabuza harumphed, looking back at his paper again.

"Just one more question, Zabuza." Haku said, hopping out of his chair. He wasn't sure if he was ready to ask such a personal question. "I'm just curious: Do you have any friends?"

Zabuza looked irritated. "No, I don't have any friends," He grumped.

"Well, just so you know; If you ever feel alone or need a friend stand by you, I'll be there." Haku said quietly, and walked away.

Zabuza immediatley looked up from his paper to watch the sweet little boy walk to his room. He couldn't help but sigh.

"That boy may be innocent, but he needs alot more than that to become a good ninja." Zabuza shook his head and once again went back to reading the paper.


	2. Haku's First Battle

_**Chapter 2: The First Day Of Training.**_

Haku finished dressing and ran out the door. It was dawn, and Zabuza had been impatiently waiting for him outside of the hideout and into a small yard-like meadow in the forest.

"I'm here, Sir!" Haku called out, breathless, when he had finally caught up to him. "I'm-"

"Late." Zabuza said stonily. "You're late."

"Uh..." Haku looked down sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Sir. It wont happen again, Sir," He said. Then he decided to change the subject. "Um...so, what exercise will I be doing today?" He asked.

"A sparring match." Zabuza said without much emotion.

"A-..._sparring match_?" Haku gulped. "Against who? I can't fight anyone! I'm too weak!" He cried.

"A long journey always begins with a single step," Zabuza said, "And you are fighting against me today. I have to see what level you are at right now, so I know what type of training you need."

"Sir, I can't fight you! You're...big...and... muscular, and I'm just downright puny compared to you, Sir!" Haku cried out, alarmed. "You are twice the size of me, Sir, in height and in muscle!" He took a nervous step back.

"Too bad. We're going to fight, right here, right now. There's nothing you can do about it. And the match is over when either of us shows a sign of defeat. And, in addition, you get breakfast if you win. Now there's an acheivment," Zabuza said, hearing little Haku's stomach growl in hunger.

"Sir, please don't make me do this! I don't want to get hurt!" Haku said frantically. "I don't care if I get breakfast!"

"The sparring match between Haku and Zabuza has officially begun!" Zabuza yelled out.

Haku began to back away as Zabuza threateningly came torwards him. Haku had been in danger many times before, and he only had one reaction to danger: and it was to run.

Zabuza suddenly appeared right before his eyes and swung his fist at his stomach. Haku managed to dodge the first one, but the second blow had hit him hard. Haku's feet slid backward into the mud, and he stumbled a bit, but he didn't fall. Clutching his stomach, Haku began to run faster.

"You really think running is going to solve your problems?" Zabuza laughed as he started after Haku again. Haku was still thinking about Zabuza's first punch. It had really hurt, and it would take a long time to get over a punch like that.

Zabuza grabbed Haku's wrist and swung Haku's light body around in a full circle before letting poor Haku go, and Haku slammed his head into a tree. Haku felt dizzy and sleepy, as the blood spun around in his head, and he couldn't think straight. He tried to stand back up again, but Zabuza whipped his sword out and held it to Haku's neck.

"Heh-heh. You're lucky this is a sparring match, boy, because if we were real enemies, I would have show no mercy at all, and you probably would have perished thirty seconds ago," Zabuza cackled, not removing the threatening sword away form Haku.

Haku's head fianlly cleared and his emotions were also cleared now. He now knew what he had to do. He had to fight back. "Replacement Jutsu!" Haku whispered, making a few quick hand signs. In Haku's original spot, there was now a log that Zabuza was holding his sword to. He whipped around to find Haku zooming torward him from behind, aiming his fist at Zabuza.

Zabuza swiftly tripped Haku and before Haku started to fall, Zabuza elbowed Haku's stomach and sent a high kick into Haku's chest, which sent him flying about five feet away from Zabuza.

Haku fell to the ground on his face, tasting dirt and grass. Lovely. Haku was disgusted and spit the mud out of his mouth. He tried to sit up, but he suddenly uttered out a loud and pitiful cry of pain. He was too tired and injured to move. But since he was still thinking straight and was capable of battle, the sparring match wasn't quite over yet.

Haku rolled over onto his back and moaned as Zabuza closed in for the final blow. He would just have to face the pain.

_Wait a minute, aren't I stronger than his?_ Haku wondered as Zabuza triumphantly walked closer to him. _Yes. I am stronger. I am not a weak person, and I can fight. I can do this!_

Out of sheer willpower, Haku leapt up onto his feet and decided to give it one more shot. If Zabuza beat him, then so be it. He would accept defeat any time now.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Zabuza laughed and made a few hand signs as three more Zabuza's appeared befor Haku's eyes. Little Haku was now surrounded. Haku began backing away for the Zabuza that was right in fornt in front of him.

Suddenly, the Zabuza behind him laughed and grabbed Haku's hair, trapping him.

"Now, for the finalle!" The other three Zabuzas cackled at the same time, raising their powerful fists, which were aimed at Haku's worried face."Too bad you couldn't win! I really didn't want to do this to you, but I have to say, that you really tried hard out there!" They all said.

Haku was about to brace himself for Zabuza's soon-to-be attack, but then he realized that he had to make Zabuza proud. He had to show his worth to someone. If he didn't show his strength to this man, then all hope was lost.

"No." Haku whispered. "I'm not weak. I can win this fight." Then, he suddenly broke free of the Zabuza-clone's grip, and dropped to the ground. He crawled in between the other three Zabuzas, and started to run away from them.

The four Zabuzas had been caught off guard, and the three clones disappeared to reveal the real Zabuza. "Hey, runt! Whaddya think you're doing? I was just about to beat your face in!" He yelled angrily.

"Yeah? Well, I'm not giving up yet!" Haku turned around and faced the now amused Zabuza.

"Not giving up, huh?" Zabuza smirked at him. "Well, then you're in for a world of hurt, kid. This time, there's absolutley no holding back, boy! Now you'll see what I can really do!"

"Alright, I'm ready!" Haku yelled back at him.

Angrily, Zabuza whipped out two kunai and raced torwards litle Haku. Haku whipped out six long, deadly needles and raced torwards him, too. Haku worked and used with his needles professionally and quickly, while Zabuza was working with his kunai by jabbing violently at Haku. This went in for about five minutes. Haku suddenly knocked a kunai from Zabuza's hand. Out of pure rage, Zabuza lunged at Haku's right hand. Haku cried out in pain as Zabuza stabbed at his hand with his kunai. Haku dropped his needles, and Zabuza had lost his kunai when Haku had yanked his hand away from him.

The two temporary enemies stared long and hard at each other for a moment, breathless. "You're pretty strong for such a little runt," Zabuza growled. "Looks like you proved me wrong." He glared at Haku.

Haku shrugged off his wounded hand, ready for action. "I will prove to you that I am not weak and worthless as everyone says I am," Haku growled at him. "This sparring match will show you what I have been hated for a long time ago."

"Fine, then. Let's see what you have up your sleeve. Give it all you've got, 'cause your gonna need it!" Zabuza laughed. He used an unrecognizable hand sign that allowed all of his chakra to go to the palm of his hand. It was now glowing with a bright red luster. He raced torwards little Haku, with his fist ready to strike with all of his might.

Haku didn't move for a second, thinking about his next move. At first, Zabuza thought it was a surrender, but then, two milliseconds later, Haku was also running torwards Zabuza. Haku had no chakra built up in his fist. Zabuza knew that there was no way Haku's tiny fist could match with Zabuza's huge, powered-up fist.

Or could it? (dramatic, mysterious music begins to play)

Haku and Zabuza were racing torwards each other, with nothing to lose. This was Haku's first sparring match, and within thirty minutes, he had become a feirce competitor.

"You don't stand a chance, kid!!!" Zabuza yelled, as they closed in on each other.

"If you don't accept me and my strength, then neither will you!" Haku yelled back, and then their fists collided with each other's. And, believe it or not, it was a perfect match. No one had taken any damage, and Haku's punch was just as strong as Zabuza's.

Zabuza cried out in disbelief. He had used every ounce of his chakra to try and defeat this boy, but Haku had just stuck his tiny fist out and matched Zabuza's strongest punch!

"That...That's impossible!" Zabuza gasped as Haku shrugged and removed his fist away form Zabuzas. "A little boy such as you shouldn't have strength like that! You...must be a-"

"A monster? I know that. That's what a Kekkei Genkai does. Now, let's end this match right now!" Haku said. He made a few amazingly swift hand signs and cried out, "Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors!"

A foggy, chilly mist began coming form Haku's small body. Suddenly, before Zabuza could blink an eye, the misty wall suddenly turned into ice. Zabuza looked around is icy prison, and then cursed when he saw little Haku waving in each mirror.

"What's happening!?" Zabuza called out.

Haku giggled. "Hee hee! You can't catch me, you can't catch me!" Haku's singsong voice echoed throughout the prison of the Crystal Ice Mirrors.

"Oh yeah? Watch this!" Zabuza punched a mirror, but didn't seem to break it. The little Haku inside of the mirror looked at him with amusement, still laughing at him, and the worst part was, that Zabuza had wasted all of his chakra on the punch that he had planned to be the end of the battle.

"Now you can't beat me!" Haku laughed cruelly. "See, Zabuza? Isn't it cool!?" He asked, happy to show off his powers.

"Whatever! Just...let's get this match over with! I'll slice all of these mirrors up untill I find you! Then we'll see who's beating who up!" Zabuza yelled, irritated.

"Fine, then! I will!" Haku said. Then, he whipped out his needles and shot them at Zabuza in all directions. Zabuza used the last of his strength to dodge the majority of them. Ten needles had hit him, and he was bleeding form ten little holes in his arms and legs.

Zabuza was just about ready to give up now. He knew he had underestimated Haku, and now Haku wanted to get back at Zabuza for hitting him so hard. He was ready for the final blow, and like Haku, he was always ready to accept defeat. Haku was charging torwards him. Flying, actually. What more could Zabuza do than wait?

"You were asking for it, now you're going to get it!" Haku yelled at the top of his lungs. "This match is officially over!"

Zabuza just watched in shock little Haku leapt out of the top mirror and zoomed torwards Zabuza in mid-air, with his fist ready.

"Aaahhhh!" Haku yelled in fury as he hit Zabuza with all of his energy. The final blow struck Zabuza's face, shattering the mirrors, with Haku neatly landing on his feet, and Zabuza was on the ground, hurt. Haku had won the fight. They were both out of chakra, so Zabuza and Haku were useless now. It had been an amazing first battle.

Zabuza finally sat up and coughed. "Not too shabby for a beginner," He croaked. He sat up and started to remove needles form his skin.

Haku dropped next to him on the ground, just as weak. "That was kind of thrilling, you know?" He gave Zabuza a weak smile.

"Yes."

"I don't really know how I did it, but I just started flying torwards you with my fist ready, not even sure of what I was doing!" Haku said.

"Yeah, kid. You're strong, all right. When you were flying torwards me, it kind of looked like you were tied to strings!" Zabuza and Haku started to laugh.

"You think I can go on my first mission soon?" Haku asked curiously.

"Yes. Soon." Zabuza said, standing up. They started back for the hideout.

"Yay! My first mission!" Haku yelled out happily.

"Whatever. You still have a long way to go, kid. We have to keep training every day from now on, boy. One day, in a few years, who knows? You could meet a boy about your age who is as strong as you." Zabuza said.

"Maybe there's a kid out there who will be stronger than me and you! what will happen then?" Haku asked nervously. He didn't want other people to be stronger than him. That would be dangerous.

"You just try your best, and don't worry about what other people can do, and then you'll be fine." Zabuza assured him.

"Okay, Sir." Haku said. Then he turned torwards Zabuza. "Uh, Sir?"

"Hmm?"

"I hope you didn't forget about what you said before the match you know, about breakfast?" Haku asked pleadingly.

"No, Haku, I didn't forget about breakfast," Zabuza rolled his eyes but he still couldn't help smiling.


	3. Haku's First Mission

_**Chapter 3**_

After the sparring match that had taken place yesterday, Zabuza was still in shock of the 'little runt's' power. When Zabuza had taken the last blow, it had hit him really hard. Even though little Haku had been responsible for Zabuza's damage, Zabuza didn't punish him. He was about to reward him for being such a strong person.

On the dawn of the third day that Zabuza and Haku had met, Haku quickly got dressed and was ready for training. He leaped out of the door, and met Zabuza in he usual training spot, where the match had taken place yesterday. But...today, Zabuza looked even more serious than yesterday. He had placed two small backpacks on the ground. Haku wondered what couls be in them, and also wondered what they were for.

"Uh...Sir...?" Haku pointed at the backpacks, looking up at Zabuza.

"Congratulations, boy," Zabuza said. "We're going on our first mission. Listen, this isn't exactly a planned mission. It's even harder than A-ranked missions and it's very, very deadly. Usually, I could do missions like these myself, but this time, it's absolutley serious. We need each other to complete it. Are you ready? Because it's okay if you're not. You can just hide under the bed if you like," Zabuza said stonily, tossing Haku a heavy little backpack.

"Wha...what? We're...traveling?!" Haku couldn't believe his ears. This was a lifelong dream come true. He had always wanted to be like the other ninja, and be allowed to travel and go on missions. "Uh, what type of mission, Sir? What do we have to do? Deliver something? Save someone?"

"No. None of that C-ranked junk. This is very dangerous. You must take many risks, because you're doing most of this mission." Zabuza said.

"Why only me?" Haku started to tremble in fear and nervousness.

"Because you have the dominant amount of energy over me. Younger ninja seem to be more pumped and ready for action, and their chakra lasts much longer. It involves stealing a very important item...and destroying things...and well, I cannot tell you the rest of it yet. it's up to the others to tell you. Also, there will be some allies along the way. Don't worry, this is a group effort. Other rouge ninja are involved." Zabuza said.

"Steal? Destroy? Okay, well, I guess the thought of allies makes me feel a bit better..." Little Haku looked worried, but regained some courage as Zabuza mentioned allies. What would the allies look like? Would they be powerful men and women who had secret jutsu like him? Would they be kids, just like him?

"Okay. There's no time to lose. We have to go to the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Follow me, and be on the lookout. This is a one-night mission, and I mean _one night._ It wont work if we take action during the day, so we must hurry if we want to get there by dusk. Remember, I'm only escorting you there, and I'll direct you to your location, but after that, my part of the mission is over." Zabuza said simply, and suddenly started zooming through the trees, on his way to the Village Hidden in the Clouds.

_Boy, is he in a hurry!_ Haku thought with alarm as he quickly followed Zabuza who was zooming through the treetops in the forest.

_**Five Hours Later...**_

As the two left the Hidden Mist Village it was beginning to become more hot and humid. After five hours with nothing to eat or drink, Haku started to slow down a bit, which eventually led to Haku lagging behind Zabuza. He was not used to these weather conditions. He was almost out of energy.

"C'mon, boy! You can't slow down now!" Zabuza was shocked.

"Ah...I...I am too tired...Zabu-" Haku sighed breathlessly. He suddenly fainted and fell out of a tree. Zabuza sighed and swirled out of the tree to look down at Haku, who was flat on his back, desparate for food and water. The poor thing hadn't even had breakfast yet.

Little Haku opened his adorable, puppy-like eyes and looked up pleadingly at Zabuza, who sighed and grabbed Haku's backpack. He reached in and grabbed a small container filled with water, and tossed it to Haku. Haku sat up, licked his lips, tore off the lid, and took a long drink of water.

"Listen, kid. I'm not sure if you're right for the job anymore. We can't keep on making rest stops for you. We've already stopped for you to go to the bathroom three times, and after this, I'm not stopping for you or your giant, crybaby eyes again." Zabuza snapped.

"Oh, but Sir, you can't send me back now! We've come too far! According to my calculations, the Hidden Cloud Village is just a few hours away! It's just that...well, I'm not that used to this kind of temperature. After all, the Land of Lightning is pretty hot and humid. You're a traveler, so you're used to it. But, I think I can make it," Haku went on. He drank the rest of his bottle and looked inside of his backpack to see what he had. Zabuza had given him five sharpened kunai, nineteen silver needles, another bottle of water, and a flashlight.

Haku wished he had something to eat, but he had to keep going. Besides, he didn't want to let Zabuza down on his first mission. He took a deep breath and stood back up, fully recharged now. "I'm ready to go, Zabuza-Sir!" He said.

"Whatever, kid. We've wasted enough time already." Zabuza grumbled, and with that, the two resumed their journey to the Land of Lightning.

With about six more hours of traveling at full-speed, Haku and Zabuza had finally reached their destination. They had found the Hidden Cloud Village, which was right in the Land of Lightning. The village was asleep, and it looked very lonely with no one around. The shops were all closed, and the lights in each house were turned off.

"Heh-heh. How peaceful this little village looks. It's pretty sad that it'll be going up in absolute chaos in a matter of hours," Zabuza chuckled as they entered the main plaza of the village. Zabuza's words sent yet another chill up Haku's spine, as they did when Haku had first met Zabuza.

"Chaos?" Haku gulped and looked up at Zabuza.

"Yes, boy. Now, let's get down to business here. You see Haku, my boss is setting up five ninja to steal the ancient Scroll Of Storms from the Raikage's room. Then burn the place to shreds. And yesterday, while you were sleeping, I went to go talk to my boss, and we discussed the ninja who will be performing those jobs tonight. I recommended you because I know that you can destroy any ninja that gets in your way."

"Burn the Raikage's building? Steal an ancient scroll? I...why would anyone want to do such a thing?" Haku cried. "That's terrible! I'm capable of doing it, but it doesn't mean I should! Innocent people could get hurt!"

"Boy, that's the risk that a rouge ninja has to take. If anyone sees you performing these tasks, well...they've seen too much. You must get rid of anyone who witnesses your illegal tasks when carrying them out. No matter what." Zabuza said harshly.

Tears formed in little Haku's eyes. "But, what if that person was someone you loved, or some kid who was completley innocent and what if they saw you doing bad stuff? You would have to kill them, too?!" Haku was outraged.

Zabuza cackled in the nastiest voice Haku had ever heard. "Well, boy, at least _you_ have experience of killing someone you loved,"

Haku gasped, tears streaming down his face. He was appalled. Experience? It was just a mistake! Haku knew he had been foolish to do such a horrid thing to his father, but after what his father did to Haku his family, what had there been left to do?

Zabuza just patted him on the head. "You'll understand when you enter your adult years. Now, my time here is up. You have to find your allies, and they'll tell you what you have to do. They're waiting somewhere in this plaza, so you have to keep a sharp eye out for them, okay?"

Haku wiped away the last of his tears. "What are their names? How many are there?" Haku asked.

"I'm sure they'll introduce themselves when they want to. And, there's four of them. I know all of them, and have spoken with them recently. They can be quite rough, and they aren't beginners. They're quite young, but they are all unique in their own way. They'll tell you what to do. You'll all be on the same team, and it's pretty certain that you'll complete the mission, according to my calculations." Zabuza said.

"Okay, I'm ready." Haku said confidently.

"Good boy. Now, I have to go. Good luck. And try not to wake the villagers. When you have completed the tasks, all five of you must report right at this spot by 12:00 A.M. That is, if all of you survive..." Zabuza got a faraway look in his eyes. Before Haku could reply or even wave goodbye, Zabuza had swirled away form his spot, and he was gone, just like that.

Haku had felt confident before, but now, his legs felt like tingling stacks of jelly, which he could barely move. He was nervous. What would his 'allies' look like? Would they be nice to him? Or would they be traitors and try to hurt him?

Haku finally got used to the jelly feeling after a few paces, and it soon had gone away. He wandered around the plaza, humming quietly to himself to calm his nerves. Little Haku searched and searched for the other ninja, but he couldn't find them at all.

He finally decided to call out for them. "Um...hello? Is anyone there?" He shouted, but was careful not to shout too loud. Haku repeated his calls, walking around the village, untill a foggy mist surrounded the center of the plaza, right where he was.

"Hello?" Haku nervously asked, suddenly realizing the mist that had miraculously appeared before his very eyes. He gasped as four shadows appeared in the heavy mist, surrounding Haku. The shadows were definatley people, but Haku had no clue who thay were. The four shadows didn't answer.

Haku carefully and nervously observed the shadows. He knew that they couldn't be Shadow Clones, because each of them were in different poses, and they were completley different sizes and shapes.

"Hello? Wh- who's there? Can you tell me who you all are, please?" Haku asked. Haku wondered if the shadows were his partners. But...they were so silent.

Finally, one of them snickered nastily and spoke. "I think it would be better for your health if _you_ tell us who _you_ are first!" It said in a threatening tone. Haku was to scared to think about whether it was a boy or a girl's voice.

"Better for my health? Wh-what do you mean? I asked you first!" Haku stammered back.

Suddenly, the shadow who had spoken to him started to charge torwards him, with a kunai in it's hand. Haku's legs had instantly turned back to jelly, and he couldn't even defend himself as the shadow tackled him to the ground, putting the tip of the kunai to poor Haku's throat.

The fog had cleared, and so had Haku's dizzy head. The mean shadow had turned out to be a girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, which was way older than Haku. She had sky blue hair that was pretty long, and a black bandana around her head, with a kunai decoration on the front of the bandana. The girl also had a Hidden Mist headband around her forehead.

Haku tried to sit up, but the girl was practically on top of him and had pinned his stomach with her knee. Haku was on the cold, stony ground, and this girl was right on him, threatening him with a kunai knife. A tiny seven year old like Haku was no match for a teenage ninja like this girl. She had a murderous look in her eyes, and didn't remove the kunai.

"Can you...let me go, please?" Haku whimpered, looking down at the kunai tip and gulped.

"Just shut up and quit complaining." The girl snapped back, her weight beginning to hurt Haku's small, super-fragile body.

Haku whimpered again and nodded slightly in nodded in response.

"Alright, kid, now you can start by telling me who you are." The girl said harshly.

Haku couldn't stand her knee crushing his ribs any longer. "You're crushing me! I can't move! Lemme go!" Haku grunted.

The girl started to crush him even more on purpose, and tightened her grip on the deadly kunai. "You just wont stop complaining, will you? For your information, little boy, I'm a jonin rouge ninja of the Hidden Mist. It wouldn't take much strength to exterminate you right here, right now."

Haku certainly didn't want to be "exterminated". "My name is Haku. I think I'm supossed to carry out a mission with you and your comrades tonight. And, no matter who you are, I'm not an enemy of yours...so, you don't need to hurt me with you're kunai, okay?" Haku pleaded in a shaky voice.

"Are you a Hidden Cloud ninja, or a Hidden Mist ninja?" The girl asked in a tough voice.

"Which is a better anwser?" Haku asked nervously. "If I was a Hidden Mist ninja, would that be a good thing?"

The girl cackled, and sat up, removing the kunai away from Haku, who was sweating and shaking. Haku gulped and sat up, too, looking down. He knew he had been defeated by this girl.

"Are you a Hidden Mist ninja?" The girl asked again in a mild tone.

"Um..well, I...yes. I am a Mist ninja." Haku quivered, bracing himself for any type of suprise attack.

The girl just looked at him for a moment, then smirked. "So you're the crybaby that Zabuza was mentioning the other day, huh?"

Haku's face turned bright red. "I'm...not a crybaby! I...was just scared!"

"Did you really think I was going to hurt you? With the kunai knife? Puh-lease. I knew you were a Hidden Mist ninja from the start!" The girl laughed.

"How?!"

"I looked at your headband, duh!" The girl said. Haku felt horrible. He had just proved himself weak to one of his new allies that he would be working with. That wasn't too good.

Haku sighed, ashamed that he had been so weak. He stood up as his other potential teammates appeared, who were the other three ninja who were in the mist. Two of them were grown men, pretty muscular, and each of them had a different colored bandanna on, with the same kunai logo printed on it. The other comrade was a little girl of about eight years old, with straight black hair, a blue bandanna on her head, and a worried expression. Haku realized that each of them were Hidden Mist ninja, because of their headbands.

"I suppose we have to introduce ourselves to you now," The man with the red headband said evenly. "My name is Zamu, a chunin of the Hidden Mist Village." He guestured to the little girl, who blushed when he looked at her. "This is Omari, also a chunin of the Hidden Mist." He lastly guestured to the other, brutish looking man with a slender, golden sword in his hand. "And this is Slicer. He's a chunin, too."

"My name's Tarina, the leader of the Kingpin Kunais group, and I'm a jonin. We're outcasts, just like you, Haku. We all posess a Kekkei Genkai, and, well, basically, we're a group of people who are ranked high on the list for the most missions completed." The teenage girl with the black bandanna said.

"Oh. Well, okay, now that we've all met, shouldn't we get started on that mission?" Haku asked. "What do we have to do?"

"We're gonna knock out the guards at the Raikage's building, which is also the home of the ancient Scroll Of Storms, get the scroll, which will most likely set off the alarm, which will send tons of other ninja after us," Omari said to Haku in a shy voice. "Then we have to take down anyone who gets in our way in the room. After we've finished that, we have to set the whole place on fire, and then...well, we're done, I guess," Omari said in a casual tone.

"Have you guys ever done anything like this before? I mean, this is my first mission ever." Haku seemed shocked that a tiny girl such as Omari could talk about destruction and death in such a casual tone.

"Yes, we have done many things like this before, but..." Tarina looked nervous. "...We've never really done such a big job before, you know, with stealing from a great leader or anything like that, which is why Zabuza had recommended you. You see, the Scroll Of Storms is different from any other scrolls. It holds ancient powers that no ninja can resist to accept. If anyone ever touched it with their bare hands, it could posses them forever, and could cause them to create mass destruction and chaos, which is why it is contained in a glass bottle." Tarina said quietly.

"Mass destruction? You're saying it will give us special powers that we don't want?" Haku asked.

"Yes. That's why we cannot open the bottle or break it on accident when we gain possesion of the scroll," Tarina said.

"Alright. Let's get going here." Slicer grumbled. "We're going to sneak right by the Raikage's house, behind the two large bushes behind it. Then we go from there. Got it?"

Everybody nodded, and the Kingpin Kunais suddenly blended into the walls and transformed into misty shadows, and raced along the walls torwards the Kazekage's house.

_What kind of power is that? _Haku thought with shock. _They morphed into shadows in the wall! I better hurry to keep up with them._ Haku silently and swiftly raced torwards their destination. They all squatted into the two large bushes behind the house. The foru kingpin Kunais members switched back to regular human beings, and glanced at the main enterance.

"There they are. The two guards. Zamu and I will capture the guards, and then drop them off here. Then we all have to break into the main enterance, and we'll nab the scroll." Omari whispered. "We can't be startled by the alarm, because that'll slow us down. The other guards will come bursting in, and we'll have to get rid of all of them. This will, of course, wake the whole village, but we're willing to take that risk of dying, right?" Omari looked at all of them.

"Right. I'm sure there are other ninja living in the village who will come out of their houses and chase after us. Remember, none of us can get caught. If one of us does, it'll totally mess up our chances of winning and we'll probably all die." Tarina instructed them.

"I'm a little nervous about all of this..." Haku whimpered, completley unsure of himself. "I've never had a real fight before..."

"Don't be so unconfident. You'll be fine. Besides, Zabuza told me all about the little sparring match yesterday morning. Pretty impressive." Tarina assured him quietly, patting him on the head.

"O.K, guys..." Tarina guestured to Zamu and Omari. "Now, go take care of the guards." She waved them off, and Omari and Zamu were as quick as ever to the main enterance. Haku just stared as the two worked together to tie up the two ninja guards, effortlessly. The guards didn't even put up a fight. Omari and Zamu carried their squirming bodies to where they all sat. Zamu placed them aside, and Tarina, Slicer, and Haku all stood up and rushed to the front door.

"We're already done with the first step. But it only gets much harder from here." Tarina murmured. Slicer just grinned, whipped out his long, golden sword and hacked at the lock untill it finally broke apart. Omari kicked open the door and they all rushed in.

Haku was suprised that the Kingpin Kunais didn't assign him to a death-defying job yet. But he was pretty sure that they would, sooner or later.

"Okay, Haku, now just gently tiptoe over to the bookshelf, and grab the bottle with the blue and red spiral on it. It has a cork in the bottle, too. You can't miss it." Tarina said.

As Haku tiptoed over to the bookshelf, and grabbed the huge bottle, a pericing alarm suddenly went off, and Slicer quickly made a few hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He hissed, sending a fireball swirling torwards the bookshelf. Haku managed to get away just in time from the fireball, and stood with the Kingpin Kunais, watching the fire start to spread all over the precious books and scrolls that belonged to the Raikage.

Tears formed in Haku's eyes as the alarm screamed in his ears as he was clutching the bottle. All of the Hidden Cloud Village's secrets were being destroyed before his very eyes.

"C'mon, kid! Let's go, what are you doing?!" Tarina shreiked and roughly pulled Haku's arm. Tarina had to practically drag him out because he was in such a trance, and the alarm was really getting to his eardrums. Tarina let him go, and Haku shook himself out of his thoughts. He cried out as he saw at least fifty other Hidden Cloud ninja surrounding them.

"Look! Those kids are trying to snatch the scroll!"

"Are those the Kingpin Kunais again?"

"What are those guys up to?"

"Let's get 'em!"

The ninja of the Hidden Cloud were all standing around Haku, Tarina, Omari, Slicer, and Zamu in a threatening way. Most of them were glaring at Haku, who was the one with the bottle in his hands. Haku thought that he was going to die. But Tarina and the others looked ferice.

Suddenly, the villagers attacked. The four Kingpin Kunais were launched into battle with the villagers, fighting for their lives. Haku stepped back, knowing that he had to fight at some point. He knew that a genin, a jonin, and three chunin were no match for fifty angry shinobi villagers, who wanted to kill them.

Omari suddenly cried out as senbon periced her right and left arm, making her incapable of action. She fell to the ground, sobbing. Zamu was very weak, and was panting heavily, on the ground as well. Slicer threw down his sword, and he had lost all hope. All of the villagers were still going strong.

The Raikage's house was still burning, and the fire had spread to a local fish market and a candy store, too. The Raikage had escaped from his building and was now ready for action, with sirens everywhere in the middle of the night. It was noisy, lights were turned on in houses, and Haku was terrified.

Tarina was the only one who wasn't wounded or exausted now, besides for Haku. She turned to him with a fierce look in her eyes.

"This is it! It's just you and me now. The others are too weak to fight! We have to protect them and ourselves, and use our true power if we all want to live!" Tarina cried, as the villagers closed in on them.

"But...shouldn't we give up?!" Haku yelled back over the sirens and the shouts and screams of the angry villagers.

"If we give up, they'll sentence us to death! We can't give up! I'm the leader of this group, and I'll never let my friends die. That includes you, Haku! Even if it means that I'll die!" Tarina yelled frantically.

Haku was shocked. Nobody had ever said anything to him like that before. Would Tarina actually die to save the rest of them? How could a rough rouge ninja like Tarina care about a little seven year old that hadn't even helped fight off the angry villagers? Haku had tears in his eyes.

"Aargh! Snap out of it, Haku! I know that you can fight! Don't you want to make Zabuza proud?" Tarina screeched as the Raikage started to make a few hand signs to finish them off.

Haku's eyes widened as he nodded, remembering his goal.

"Alright, then!" Tarina whispered, making a few swift hand signs, releasing her forbidden jutsu. "Secret Jutsu: Supernova Laserbeam!" She chanted, saying a jutsu that Haku had never even heard of before.

Violet-colored, electrified chakra started to race up to Tarina's face from her entire body, charging up her Supernova Laserbeam. Without warning, a huge, powerful, bright-purple beam shot out of her mouth, right at the villagers. Haku was stunned. His power was nothing compared to Tarina's!

Unfortunatley, most of the villagers dodged the attack, knowing that it would kill them. Six muscular villagers were hit and they were sprawled on the ground, motionless. Haku shuddered. Now the remaining villagers were very, very angry. The move had been meant to get rid of the Raikage at least, but now, they were doomed. The fires were now put out by the other villagers.

The Raikage finished making his hand signs, looking menacingly at Tarina, who was in shock from all of the power she had used up. She was on the ground as well, trying to catch her breath.

"No! Don't hurt her!" Haku screamed helplessly, realizing what the Raikage was trying to do. "I'm the one with the scroll! I'm the real criminal here! I'm the only one who touched your stupid scroll! Shouldn't you try to take me out first?!"

"You're all criminals. And in the Hidden Cloud Village, we show no mercy to crooks like you. It was a really bad idea to try and steal from a shinobi village. Really bad idea." The Raikage growled.

"Please! We give up! Just leave her alone!" Haku shrieked at the top of her lungs. Tarina was desparate to say something to Haku, but she was so weak, that she couldn't speak or move. All she could do was just watch. And wait.

"Special Jutsu: T-" The Raikage started to chant.

"Don't you dare say it!" Haku screamed tearfully. "You want to destroy me, fine, but you can't hurt any of my comrades! I came here today to make a person I cared about proud. I want to make my comrades proud just as well! And you villagers can call me names or hit me with every weapon, but I'm still gonna prove that I'm not a weakling!" He announced loudly.

_You have proved yourself, Haku. _Tarina thought happily. Nobody had ever wanted to risk their lives just for a couple of criminals lke the Kingpin Kunais. Everybody hated the Kingpin Kunais gang, ever since Tarina and the others were tiny kids like Haku. Their lives had changed when they started to work for Gato. And any ally would never lift a pinkie to help them. As a little girl, Tarina was abandoned just like Haku, and nobody had cared about her, either. Tarina would never forget him as long as she lived.

"You're criminals. Didn't you hear me the first time?! You've set my house on fire, killed six villagers, and stole the ancient scroll. Even if you gave it up, there are still serious punishments for people like you," The Raikage said, shaking his fist. "It's my duty to protect this village. All of your little friends are hurt, so why don't you just get down on the ground with your hands up and accept your arrest?"

"But, Lord Raikage, shouldn't we get rid of them right here and right now? They might put up a hefty fight when we throw them in the village cell." One villager pointed put.

"Hmm. I suppose you're right," The Raikage turned torwards the exausted Kingpin Kunais and Haku. "My descision is set, little boy. We need to 'take care of' the Kingpin Kunais. I'm giving you the choice to either drop the scroll and escape since you're so young, or, if you don't cooperate, yuo can be pitted right with the Kingpin Kunais and be destroyed along with them. Your move."

"Mmm..." Tarina moaned, getting weaker by the minute. Her chakra was still draining form her body after the Supernova Laserbeam attack. "Haku...get out of here. You can run free and still be free of charge. We've done things that you would never even dream of doing to others. You can just leave now. Run while you can. Don't think about what I said before. You can still make Zabuza proud on other missions. This one's really serious, so you have to flee."

"No! You don't understand! I don't want to just impress Zabuza! I want to prove to you all that I can be a good team member! I'm not weak, and I'm not gonna let you guys die, either!" Haku said tearfully.

"Once again, little boy: Run while you can. I'm not going to hold back much longer. I don't want to hurt you. How about I cut you a deal? Take the other little one and run with her." The Raikage reasoned, pointing at the trembling Omari.

"Yes, yes! Take Omari and run!" Tarina yelled.

"Never!" Haku yelled back.

"You leave me no choice at all." The Raikage said sadly, shaking his head. He made a new pose to attack them. Haku was on his feet, but the others were too frightened and hurt to continue. Zamu and Slicer had lost conciousness a few minutes ago, and little Omari was sitting up, trembling, waiting for the end. Tarina was sitting on her knees, weak, and also frightened.

Haku looked fierce. "I guess you leave me no choice as well. I challange you to a fight to the end. If you win, you can arrest and punish all of my comrades, and you can have the scroll. And, well, if I win, you wouldn't be around to see what happens next." Haku challanged, handing the scroll to Tarina to hold on to.

The Raikage suddenly growled loudly and charged at Haku with a kunai knife. Haku dodged the attack, but the attack was just a fake! The real Raikage was right behind him with the kunai at the ready. He slashed at Haku's back, and tore his shirt. Haku yelped in pain, spun back around, and tried to push the Raikage away, which was a pitiful move.

The Raikage elbowed him and then pushed him to the ground. He laughed. "I didn't expect a bold little boy like you to be so weak. Did you really think you could win?"

Haku jumped up, and aimed a strong punch at the Raikage's head. The Raikage blocked it, and bounced it back right to Haku in the face. Haku cried out, and fell to the ground with a thud right on his back, his nose starting to bleed.

"Little bratty weakling genin like you have never lay a hand on me! Never!" The Raikage said triumphantly.

Haku's eyes widened, and another strange circle appeared around his iris. He got a sudden dangerous look in his eye, and that almost frightened the Raikage. "What did you just say to me?" Little Haku growled in a threatening tone.

"I said that I think that you are a bratty weakling. You can't win. It almost seems as though you can't beat _anybody_ from my point of veiw. You're all talk." The Raikage said smoothly, preparing for his next attack.

"I...I..." Haku was suddenly losing control over himself. Anger was taking over his entire body, and he suddenly hated the Raikage. "You stupid, insulting Meaniehead! Nobody talks to me like that and gets away with it! I can beat anyody I put my mind to!" Haku yelled.

Haku was shaking with anger. His fists were shaking and sweating, and he suddenly began to make hand signs with only his right hand. The villager audience gasped, and so did Tarina and Omari.

"Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles Of Death!" Haku angrily stomped his foot on the ground. He didn't even know that jutsu before. It had just suddenly...came to him. He watched as thousands of razor-sharp needles rose up from the ground and aimed themselves at the Raikage. The Raikage suddenly knew that he had been defeated. Haku pointed his finger in the Raikage's direction, and all of the needles instantly obeyed their master.

The Raikage instantly tried to dodge them all, but he only dodged about four-fifths of the needles. He had been taken by complete suprise, so he didn't hav time to summon his chakra to his feet. He was breathing heavily and bleeding after the attack, and it was quite a gory scene. Haku glared at the Raikage. The Raikage saw that he was in grave danger, so he made a quick hand sign and suddenly disappeared from sight. The other villagers saw that the Raikage had chickened out, so they quickly departed from the scene as well.

The ancient Scroll Of Storms now belonged to Haku.

Haku had won with a jutsu he didn't even have. He turned to Tarina and Omari, who were stunned.

"Wow, Haku. I had no idea that you had that much power! I mean, I thought that you would use the Crystal Ice Mirrors jutsu, but that was even better! A one handed jutsu? You don't see that everyday!" Tarina finally had spoken. She still held the scroll in her arms.

Haku was glad to know that she and Omari were okay. Slicer and Zamu opened their eyes, and looked around, and eventually grasped the situation.

"You...you...saved us all? Nobody ever did something lke that for us before," Zamu said slowly, amazed that Haku had driven all of the villagers and the Raikage away with his amazing power and courage.

"Whoa. That was some party. You scared them all away, Haku? Usually they stop at nothing to get to us!" Slicer exclaimed, sitting up and nodding in approval and gratitude.

Little Omari was absolutley thrilled. She didn't seem so shy in front of little Haku anymore. "He saved us! He really saved us! Thank you, Haku!" She cried. She jumped up, ignoring the pain in her arms, and ran up to Haku and hugged him tightly.

Haku blushed and laughed. He hadn't had a real hug in a long, long time, and it really felt good to be liked again by someone. And, in addition, he had the ancient Scroll Of Storms in his possesion, which they would give to Zabuza to give to Gato. Omari suddenly realized what she was doing, then blushed and quickly cleared her throat before letting go of Haku.

"Impressive. Your first mission was a complete success." Tarina said in a buisnesslike fashion. "By the way, thank you for helping us out there. If you hadn't come with us, I don't know where we would be."

"Your welcome. So, um...what time is it? Does anybody know? We were supossed to meet Zabuza here at midnight." Haku said.

Tarina looked at a small black digital watch on her wrist. "It's 11:30." She reported.

"We better get going. If we keep Zabuza waiting, heaven knows what he would do to all of us." Zamu said. "So, lets get a move on. We might just make it to the village gates by midnight."

Everyone nodded in agreement and started to walk at different paces. Omari and Tarina held back a bit, while Haku was walking in the middle at a normal, yet sort of clumsy pace. Zamu and Slicer were walking ahead side by side, having a quiet discussion about an upcoming mission.

At the back of the traveling group on the journey back to where they started, Tarina and Omari were silent. Omari looked upset, which worried Tarina. Omari was like a little sister to Tarina, and she had taken care of her ever since Omari was a toddler, which was when Omari Kekkei Genkai had been found out by many.

"Is...something bothering you, Omari? You look kind of disappointed." Tarina asked. She sounded concerned, which tensed Omari.

"No! Why would you think that?" Omari said, sounding and looking even more upset.

"Why not tell me what's wrong? We'll most likely be spending the rest of our lives together doing missions, and you'll have to tell me sooner or later. What's on your mind?" Tarina pressed.

"...I, uh..." Omari twiddled her thumbs together for a moment, then she whispered, "Will we ever see Haku again?"

"Huh?!" Suddenly, a smirk curled on Tarina's lips. "Oh, I get it now." She cackled.

Omari looked betrayed. "No, I didn't say I like him. It's just...well, I haven't been around many kids my age lately, and...he's really nice..." Omari said shyly. Then she looked fierce. "But don't you go getting ideas about spreading your assumptions, okay, Tarina?"

Tarina just laughed.

"I'm serious, Tarina! I didn't say I like him in that way!" Omari said with desperation in her voice. She hated it when Tarina teased her like this all of the time, whether it was one subject or another.

"So, you hate him?" Tarina giggled in a taunting voice. "I can tell him _that_ if you want me to,"

"Huh?! Don't tell Haku that! It's not true! Then he wont like me-" Omari gasped and stopped, thinking about what she had just revealed to Tarina. Omari knew she had been caught. Tarina was just grinning wildly. Omari hung her head.

"Ah-ha! You see that? You can't and never will be able to hide stuff from me!" Tarina laughed gleefully.

"Don't you dare tell anyone about this! It's your responsibility to keep the secret? Got that?" Omari growled in a threatening tone.

"Okay, okay, Omari. Whatever you say. I wont tell anyone. I promise." Tarina said, but even in the dead of night, Omari could see the smirk still on her face, lit by the moon. Omari decided to just let it go.

"Well, now that you know, you still didn't answer my question: Will we ever see Haku again? You know, after Zabuza takes him home?" Omari asked.

"Of course we will! We'll probably get set up with him again for another mission someday." Tarina said.

"Someday!? You always say 'someday' when I ask you things that have to do with time! And it always takes a long time for that 'someday' to come! Please, Tarina. Just tell me." Omari pleaded.

"Gato is holding a meeting next week for all who work for him," Tarina said thoughtfully. "And I'm sure Haku's gonna be there, so just keep your bandanna on."

Omari still looked upset.

"But...I don't want to wait. I want to have a new friend. He saved all of us, and he's really nice and brave and..." Omari's sad voice trailed off.

Tarina tried not to crack up at this.

"I...what if I give him one of my golden kunais? Y'know, for good luck? He'd like that, wouldn't he?" Omari said thoughtfully.

"Really? You're gonna give Haku one of your special golden kunais from your collection that you've been ranting and raving about for two years? One of the rare, mega-expensive weapons you love? " Tarina was shocked.

"Yeah. I mean, it could be a gift of our gratitude, and...well, I just want him to have it." Omari said.

They fell silent as they walked on, and finally reached the village gates where a very impatient-looking Zabuza was tapping his foot and waiting for them.

"It's about time. You get the scroll?" Zabuza grumbled in a low voice.

Little Haku beamed as he pulled out the Scrol Of Storms and handed it to Zabuza. "It was really hard, but we did it!" Haku said proudly.

Zabuza beamed behind his mask and bowed to all five of them. "You all did well. I'm sure Gato will be pleased. I thank all of you for your help."

"We still wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Haku," Tarina smiled. Little Haku giggled.

"Really?" Zabuza looked suprised. "I didn't know he had the strength to take on more than one person."

"Actually, Zabuza, he didn't take on just a few villagers. It was the Raikage who he had beaten," Tarina whispered to Zabuza only, nodding torwards Haku.

Zabuza's eyes widened. "This boy...beat the Raikage? I didn't even know he had the mental strength to even challange the Raikage in the first place. Whoa. He might have a crybaby-like nature, but we were dead wrong. He's no weakling." He whispered back.

Tarina nodded, then innocently said out loud, "Well, we better get going now. It's really getting late, and what's left of the mob could still follow us." She said, glancing at Omari, who suddenly looked nervous.

Omari suddenly stepped forward to Haku. "Um, Haku...thanks again. Hopefully we'll meet again, but now, I really want you to have this." She reached in her backpack to pull out a valuable, rare golden kunai, and gently put it in little Haku's hands.

Haku's eyes boggled. "Wow! A golden kunai? Thank you very, very much, Omari. But...are you sure you want me to have this?"

Omari smiled nervously. "Of course I want you to have it! It brings good luck, is a very powerful and effective weapon, and it is a sign that you're our friend."

Haku looked flattered and happily accepted the weapon. He never intended to be a shinobi, and never wanted to, but this was a beautiful weapon that he had to accept. The weapon felt so brutal and cold in his innocent hands, but it felt good. It felt like true power and friendship. Haku knew that someday they would meet again in another mission to impress Zabuza.

"Well, we better get going, too," Zabuza said, not noticing Omari and Haku's conversation. The only one who was paying attention to Omari's friendliness was Tarina and of course, Haku.

"Okay, thanks again Omari! Bye, everybody!" Haku waved at them as they started to walk away.

Omari sighed and hoped for the best. She hoped that whatever Haku's goal was, he could succeed, and that he would stay as nice and as healthy as now. Before the Kingpin Kunais could walk away, too, Haku suddenly whipped around, ran back and kissed Omari on the cheek.

Before the shocked Omari could respond, Haku said "goodbye" again and quickly ran off to catch up to Zabuza, who didn't even notice it, and Zabuza was already way ahead of him.

Tarina looked and grinned at Omari after Zabuza and Haku were out of earshot. "Now, wasn't that precious?" She cooed, trying to make Omari mad. Omari just stared in Haku's direction.

"You aren't going to faint, now, are you, Omari?" Tarina snickered. "I saw the whole thing, you know."

Omari snapped out of it and glared at Tarina. "Hey! It's not like I did it or anything! You really annoy me sometimes." She playfully pushed Tarina away, who just laughed again.

Zamu and Slicer looked confused, and they just grunted as Tarina and Omari started to walk off again. Zamu and Slicer quickly followed. The Kingpin Kunais were in a trance of what amazing power they had just seen come from such a small boy.

Tarina thought, _What an amazing little boy. No wonder Omari likes him. I wonder if we'll ever get a mission with him again, because with his powers, it would be a real honor to work with him again..._

_**To Be Continued...**_

_Well, that's my story. I'm a real Haku fan. I love little Haku, and the fifteen year old one. Remember to look for my next part of the story!!! Next Time: 'Haku's Training Days, Part II: The Return of the Kingpin Kunais!' Five years later, twelve-year-old Haku finally gets to mmet the Kingpin Kunais again, but will they recognize each other and work together as one? Please Read and review this story, and before you know it, Part II will come to Fanfiction!_


	4. Captured!

_**Chapter 4 Of Haku's Training Days**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Haku, Zabuza, or the world that the Naruto Characters live in.

Claimer: I do own Omari, Tarina, Zamu and Slicer, though. These characters belong in the Kingpin Kunais squad, which I made up myself! They belong only to me and my imagination. If you wanna use them in your story, ask me first. Now the real story begins!

It had been five years. Five years since little Haku had met Zabuza. Their bond was stronger. Well, Haku's bond was stronger, at least, because Zabuza didn't show much affection for his partner. After certain completed missions that Haku and Zabuza had barely pulled through out of, Haku had tried to hug Zabuza in relief or in pure love sometimes, but Haku had always gotten pushed away, shooken off, or carelesly grabbed by his hair and plopped somewhere else by Zabuza.

Little Haku was now twelve, and he had finally grown out of his childishness. His goals had been set for life, and he had grown a bit bigger. His looks had changed a bit, too. When Haku was only seven, he had untamed, frizzy brown hair. Now, his hair had grown a bit longer, more sleeker, and was darker in color. He still had his bangs, but he looked alot different, even though little Haku still had to grow alot before he could be considered a teenager.

Meanwhile, Haku jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed and ready for the day. He had changed his clothing style, too. Instead of the pink outfit he had worn always before, his new favorite color was green. He wore a clean dark green robe every day, with a long sash on his waist. He had finally earned his official Hidden Mist headband, which had taken a long time to get ahold of one.

Haku leapt out of the door and realized that it was only about 5:30 AM. He had a half-hour before his daily training could begin. He decided to get some breakfast. He had a handful of coins in his pocket, so he could get just about whatever he wanted from the bakery. Haku knew that he was completley breaking Zabuza's strict rules of never leaving the hideout, but he was starving, because he hadn't eaten much last night.

Before he left for the Hidden Mist village, he grabbed one of his masks. This time, he chose an electric blue mask with slits for eyeholes and a glowing green lightning bolt down the middle of it. A perfect disguise.

Little Haku silently and quickly walked into the village, just out of the forest. He, of course, went to the bakery and bought a few blueberry muffins, ate them quickly outside of the shop, and hurried back torwards the forest. He knew he had little time left. Zabuza would practically kill him if he caught Haku meandering around the village in the morning.

He suddenly slowed to a stop. His eyes widened as he saw scorch and battle marks across the ground. Some of the trees were tattered, and flowers and weeds were ripped to shreds. A few drops of blood were smeared on a tree. A familiar swordprint was embedded in the ground. It was the track of Zabuza's guillotine sword!

Little Haku knew that this was serious. What could have happened here in the twenty minutes that he was gone? He knew that Zabua must have had a battle somewhere. He could be in trouble. What if he was...

Haku shook himself out of the gory fantasy of Zabuza being murdered. After all, this was Zabuza. In Haku's mind, nobody (except him) could beat Zabuza. Ever. But just to be sure, Haku ran at full speed torwards the hideout. Halfway there, he saw two evil-looking, real trackers standing over Zabuza, who was lying on the ground, motionless.

Haku almost gasped, but he knew that he couldn't be seen by those trackers. He his behind a tree. Haku could see Zabuza's chest moving up and down, and he was heaving with every breath. His precious sword lay on the ground. The lead tracker picked it up and examined it.

"Looks like we took him down without even having to break out our special jutsus," The lead tracker said. "We have to get rid of him now. After all, it's our duty to get rid of the Demon of the Hidden Mist."

"But what about the other kid that was talked about before? The one who's in cahoots with Zabuza? Haku, that was his name. Next, after we take care of Zabuza's body, we'll have to get him, too," The other tracker said.

Haku gulped. These ninja were coming for him, too! But the worst part was that they were going to kill Zabuza now. Haku had sworn to himself that he's protect Zabuza with his life in exchange for Zabuza's care. Tears filled his eyes as he panicked, thinking about what to do.

The lead tracker ninja snatched a kunai knife out of his pocket and flipped it around. "You know, this guy didn't even put up a real fight. He just started running away, like a coward. I wonder, was he really the Demon of the Hidden Mist?" He suddenly bent down and raised the knife over Zabuza, who had given up on all hope.

"Noooo! Don't touch him! Leave him alone!" Little Haku howled, jumping out from behind the tree. The two trackers looked amused as they turned around and faced little Haku.

Zabuza shakily lifted his wounded head up from the ground. "Haaakuu...don't. Run, while you can, boy. And that's an order." Zabuza croaked. "You can't kill them. I've already tried. It's impossible. You must get out. Now."

Haku looked furious. "No! I've told you, I can beat anyone I put my mind to! And that includes these jerks right here who are trying to kill you! Over the past five years, I've learned that you can never accept defeat if you haven't even tried, yet. Even if it means that you and I die." He said tearfully.

The lead tracker grinned at him. "Well, well. Aren't we lucky today? We have both of the criminals right here, right now. Don't worry. We wont have to kill you. We'll just have to capture you, like we did to that Kingpin Kunai gang."

Haku's ears were now glowing red as he heard the name of his role-models used so disgustedly. "What did you do to them? You better not have- ahhhh!" Haku yelped as the other tracker ninja rushed over and suddenly hoisted him over his shoulder.

The lead tracker ninja lifted Zabuza in the air, too. Haku grunted as he felt himself being roughly stuffed into a large body bag and being rushed away. Haku figured that Zabuza was in another bag.

Haku and Zabuza were captured and stuffed into body bags like hunted animals would be. That made Haku furious. He thought of using his Crystal Ice Mirrors or his Thousand Needles Of Death jutsu, but what good would that do? His mirrors were useless at this point, and if he used the needle jutsu, that could hurt Zabuza as well as the two trackers. Haku would just have to wait.

Haku felt himself being carried far, far away, and he noticed that in the past hour, the climate had changed greatly. It was now hot and humid, and Haku's hands and head were starting to sweat, which was pretty new for him. He had never been outside of a snowy climate before. Another hour later, Haku gasped as the shaking and sounds of travel had stopped, and a different tracker woman opened up the body bag with Haku stuffed inside. Haku now realized that they were in a large cell in a tracker academy with human-sized cage, eough to fit ten adults in it, and a wooden bench in the cell.

"Come out of there," The tracker woman growled as little Haku huddled inside of the large bag. He was shaking. He knew that he was at the tracker's mercy right now. He and Zabuza could be killed at any second.

"I SAID, come on!" The tracker woman repeated and lifted Haku out of the bag with her own two hands. Haku suddenly felt grumpy. He hated it when adults picked him up when he refused to do something. It made him feel like a baby. Even Zabuza thought that he could toss Haku around whenever he felt like it.

As the tracker woman lifted him into a cage, Haku was squirming and screaming like a small child. "Lemme go! Let...me...go! Get your hands of of me, you big stinking meaniehead! How dare you touch me like that!" Little Haku always started screaming like this whenever he panicked.

The tracker woman looked angry as she placed him into the large cage. Haku didn't like the look in her eyes. "What'cha gonna do about it now, huh? I've got you trapped. And I can dispose of you whenever I feel like it, so I would watch it, little boy." The woman said triumphantly.

Haku stiffled a sob as the female tracker walked away, out the door, out of the cell that they were now in. He and Zabuza were going to die and Haku knew it. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to take down three or more trackers. He knew that he didn't have the strength or the guts to kill anyone or anything, even though he was a chunin.

"Haaakuuu..." He heard Zabuza moan from the other side of the cage. "You broke the rules. I told you to stay in the hideout..."

"I'm...so sorry, Sir." Haku moaned. He had never been caught doing bad stuff in front of Zabuza before, and now he was going to be in big trouble.

"No, no. To tell you the truth, Haku, you saved both of us by your childish nature. If you hadn't snuck out in the morning and popped out when you saw the trackers, they would have killed me and eventually find you and kill you, too. Good work. You saved both of our skins." Zabuza weakly praised. Haku knew that Zabuza was still hurt from the trackers' attacks.

Haku merely nodded, with tears in his eyes. Even thought they were saved, the Kingpin Kunais were captured, and now they were, too. What hope was there left for Gato's top workers?

Suddenly, the door of the cell opened again. Haku suddenly had a horrible feeling in his gut, so he ran to the back of the huge cage and huddled next to Zabuza, whose eyes widened, but he stayed still. The two trackers that had attacked them came in, gripping four other people's wrists tightly. They unlocked Haku and Zabuza's cage door with a few secret hand signs, and threw the four other ninja in, too.

"There. At least you have some company now," The lead tracker ninja sneered at them. Haku was paralyzed with fear and didn't say a word untill the two trackers were gone.

Haku breathed a sigh of relief and looked around at the newcomers, which he realized with shock were the Kingpin Kunais gang! He was delighted and was feeling sorry when he had seen this.

The leader of the group, Tarina, smiled at him weakly. "So, we meet again, Haku." She greeted in the most optimistic tone she could muster.

"Haku?!" Omari blushed and suddenly looked embarrassed. She hadn't seen Haku in about over three months, and still couldn't forget that one kiss on the cheek that Haku had given her on the night that they had to say goodbye. She had been seing Haku all over the place, but hadn't gone on a mission with him since the day they had met. For the past four years, she had been secretly admiring Haku from a distance. Haku was kind to her, but Omari was too shy to have an open conversation with him. Frantic, Omari dusted herself off and smiled weakly back at Haku, who gave her a brave, yet sad smile and waved at her.

To Omari, Haku didn't look too well. Depressed. That definatley concerned Omari. She didn't want anything to happen to Haku. She wanted him to be strong and kind and brave, like he was when they had met. Not meek, sad, and hopeless like he looked now.

Zamu, Slicer, and Tarina looked and nodded at each other. They stood up and walked torwards the back of the cage, to have an important meeting with Zabuza, who found the strength to sit up and speak.

"I have no clue what's gonna happen to us here. I mean, I know they're gonna get rid of us soon, but, what do we do now? Sit and wait? They've taken my sword, so I can't hack through the bars." Zabuza said in a low tone only meant for the adults to hear. But Omari and Haku eavesdropped anyway.

"I don't know either. We're all out of chakra, because we really tried to put up a fight with those trackers. We were in the other cell room next door, but I don't know why they moved us to this room with you guys." Tarina whispered.

"What will happen to Omari and Haku? They're just little kids. What are the trackers gonna do?" Zamu asked a bit too loudly.

"They'll probably cut them up into itsy bitsy little peices and feed them to their tracker dogs," Slicer sneered in a completley casual tone.

Haku gasped and Omari fainted when they had heard this.

Tarina slapped Slicer on his arm. "Shut up," She growled at Slicer, who just grunted in response. "We don't want to frighten them. We have to stay as calm as possible. If they start panicking, it will mean trouble."

The group of adults huddled closer and now spoke in whispers. Little Haku rushed over to Omari, knelt down, and shook her gently. Omari woke up and started to cry, and moan about not wanting to be cut up into little peices and be fed to the dogs.

"Don't worry. Slicer was just being a jerk. That won't happen. I wont let anything happen to you, okay?" Haku softly reassured her. He helped her sit up and then hugged her to make her comfortable.

Omari wiped away her tears and let Haku hold on to her. "But...but...they will. I didn't even get the chance to put up a real fight against those trackers. They just attacked and then nabbed all of us before we could even blink! My chakra was all wasted. None of us stands a chance against those guys. If you try, then they'll make you into dog food!"

"No, they wont. Listen, I swear to you that I'll protect all of us as much as I can. I'm the only one who has any energy left. Zabuza's wounded. You guys are all out of chakra. So, just keep your cool and stay put, okay?" Haku gave her hand a squeeze and stood up.

Omari did as she was told watched with admiration as Haku paced around the cage, trying to look for a way out. Suddenly, Haku's eyes widened as he stopped and stared at the ground.

"What? What did you find?" Omari said loudly, excitedly. Tarina, Zamu, Slicer, and Zabuza all looked up from their meeting circle and looked at Haku.

Haku's gloomy look went form depressed to delighted. "Look! A puddle! That means water. I can get out of the cage by using a jutsu that makes me go into the puddle, into the ground, and pop up out of the cage! Almost like the Subsitute Jutsu!" He said.

"What do you want to get out of the cage for?" Zabuza asked. "What are you going to do out there?"

"Didn't you see how they unlocked the cage with the hand signs? Maybe there's a scroll somewhere around this tracker academy building that I can learn the signs from! Don't you see?" Haku said.

"Don't you think that the students are going to notice a little twelve year old captive walking around their classroom?" Zamu said doubtfully.

Haku smiled slyly. "Look! On the other side of the room, just out of the cage in the corner. There's a red and white tracker's mask over there that someone must have left behind. When I get outta this cage, I'll wear that as a disguise! Then, when I get the secret hand sign code to open the cage, we can all escape! Everything might work out after all. You guys think my plan will work?"

"Haku! You're so smart!" Omari jumped up and hugged Haku put of pure joy. Even though she was shy of hm, sometimes she just couldn't help herself. Haku just blushed and smiled.

Tarina was impressed. "Wow. You figured all that out just in a few minutes? Very observant, and smart. I like it."

"It's a pretty risky idea. But risk is my middle name. Especially if it can get us out of here. I agree." Slicer nodded in approval.

"You're crazy, boy. But, it just might be crazy enough tro work," Zamu shrugged.

"Zabuza? What do you say? Do you want to let Haku go? We all think he has a shot at finding the code out." Tarina pressed.

Zabuza looked ito little Haku's eyes. Not only did he see himself, but pure courage and determination as well, which made Zabuza proud of him. "Yes, Haku. I think that you should go and try and figure out how to get us out. Please, just don't die get captured or anything, okay, kid?" He said.

"Yes, sir! I'll be careful!" Haku smiled at Zabuza.

"Um, Haku...I really hope that you have a safe trip." Omari smiled shyly at him. "Good luck,"

"Thanks." Haku smiled bravely and walked into the middle of the large puddle of water. He made a few quick hand signs and he first disappeared in a puff of mist, then reappeared just outside of the locked cage. Everybody watched tensely as he rushed over and picked up the red and white tracker ninja's mask. He took a moment to realize how beatutiful he thought the mask was. It was white all around with two thin slits for eye holes and a hook-like red marking at the bottom of it.

Haku quickly put on the new mask and dashed out of the cell, into one of the academy hallways leading to classrooms.

Omari started to cry about three seconds after Haku left. Tarina looked alarmed and rushed over to see what was the matter with her.

"Omari! What are you crying about?" Tarina whispered, putting her arm around Omari's shoulder and wiping away the tears streaming down Omari's cheeks. Even though Tarina could be childish and a real bully torwards Omari sometimes, but they were almost like sisters.

"I...I don't want him to get hurt. He's really a nice person...and he said that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. But if anything happens to Haku...I don't know what I'll do." Omari sobbed.

"It'll be okay. We know Haku. He's a very determined, sweethearted kid, and I'm sure he'll come back, with the info we need or not, okay? I can tell that he really likes you. And...if he doesn't come back, then we'll just have to try and regain some chakra and bust out of here to go look for him, okay? But I doubt that it'll ever come to that." Tarina reassured her.

"Pfft. I'll be shocked if that kid comes back with his head still attached to his neck." Slicer rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, showing no emotion at all ever since they were captured.

"Shut _up!_ You're not helping things." Tarina hissed as Omari began to tremble violently and whimper. Slicer just sighed and shrugged. Tarina hugged Omari and Omari clung onto her, silently praying that Haku would come back safely.

**_Please Go To The Next Chapter and see what Happens next To Haku! If You want To Know What Happens Between Omari and Haku, I suggest that you read The next Chapter and not get all of the Details Of The Story From a Friend! That's Cheating:)_**


	5. Fighting For Love

_**Chapter 5...**_

Little Haku had heard Omari whimpering as he exited the cell room, but there was no going back now. He had to hurry before the tracker ninja came back for the others. He had made a vow to Omari and himself that he wouldn't fail or lose, or die. With his new mask covering his face, he rushed down the hall torwards the academy sensei's office. He figured that if he could make up a good enough excuse to be in the senseis office and stall him, he could root around the room and find the scroll that told him the secret jutsu that opened the cage.

Haku had a bit of trouble finding the sensei's office, but he found the door in a matter of about five minutes. When he reached the door, he politley knocked, waiting for an answer. Five seconds later, the door opened. A serious-looking young tracker opened the door.

"Uh...hello, Mister...sensei." Haku giggled nervously, twiddling his thumbs.

The sensei put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot. "I'm very busy today. State your purpose here, boy." The sensei said suspiciously.

"Uh...you know? That test that we took recently...is there any extra forms that I can use to make it up? I was absent that day." Little Haku said in an innocent tone, looking at the ground.

"You know, I don't remember you going to this academy. Nor do I recognize that mask. And you also seem pretty young. What's your name?" The sensei said, not even bothering to invite Haku into the office.

"My name?" Haku shrieked with panic. "Uh...it's uh...well, I'm not...um..." If Haku gave away his real name, then the sensei might find out that he was a prisoner and attack.

The sensei's eyes suddenly brightened. "Ah! Now I recognize your mask. You're Yuimaru, aren't you?"

"Uh...yes! Yes I am." Haku said quickly. "Now, about that test..."

"Oh! I almost forgot. So you were absent, huh, Yuimaru? Okay, then. Let me just get the make-up tests in the back. You study hard?" The sensei began to go into his office for the test.

"As hard as I possibly could, sensei." Haku couldn't help but smile. His little plot was actually working better than he had expected. He also thought that the fact that he was being called 'Yuimaru' was funny. The sensei was so dumb, that he couldn't even tell one of his students to a young captive trying to steal information from his office.

"Good, good. Come in, if you want. It's gonna take me a while to get it out of the back storage room..." The sensei turned around and walked into his office, and into the back room, lifting a heavy box to get ahold of one of the tests. Haku knew that it was going to stall him for at least five minutes.

Still, little Haku was running out of time. He didn't have time to read the scrolls now, so he just the one and only scroll that was labeled, "Locks and Opening Jutsus". Haku put it in his robe pockets, and ran out of there, fast. He ran down the hall, expecting to be back at the cell at any minute. But he didn't get two steps ahead when a saw about fifty tracker students suddenly forming a circle around him.

And the sensei stood right before him.

Haku sputtered and shook his head in disbelief. No, no, no! This couldn't be happening to him. Now it was a true fact that he was going to get arrested and perish in the tracker ninja academy. His eyes were spinning as he shook and whimpered, waiting for the sensei to speak.

"Stupid theif. You think that I was actually going to buy your story about a make-up test? Give me a break. I knew that you were a fake ever since I saw your mask. That was Yuimaru's mask, one of my old students. He died about five years ago and somehow, his mask was left there." The sensei grinned at Haku, who was absolutley stunned.

"I...I...I didn't...I...what are you going to do?" Haku managed to stammer out.

"We know who you are, _Haku_. We've been looking for you for about five years now. You're a wanted ninja. What do you think we're going to do?" The sensei said in a dark voice. He walked over, tore Haku's mask off, and threw it to the floor.

"Take him down!" All of the younger trackers were yelling. The more experienced students readied their senbon, ready to join in on the fun. Haku backed up from the group in front of him. He bumped into something bigger than him from behind, and whipped around to see what it was.

It was a much larger,muscular tracker kid of about sixteen, who just smiled sweetly down at poor little Haku and then gave a cruel, hard punch to Haku's face. Haku cried out, and fell to his knees. Suddenly, exactly one-hundred kunai were thrown at him in all directions. Haku's reaction was so fast that he actually had time to count them, which suprised him. He was frightened. He was determined. He had made a promise to Omari.

In that instant, Haku's courage overtook him and he felt even stronger and speedier than before. He saw all of the kunai in slow motion, as he traveled and made his move at the speed of light. His eyes suddenly turned a cold, bright blue, and he stuck out his arms and made a toranado out of himself and spun as the kunais hit where he was kneeling before all of the trackers.

A millisecond later, Haku was breathlessly standing up, with all one hundred kunai on his fingertips, caught by the small loop-like handle. Ten were on each of Haku's fingers, and they all looked like one hundred kunai rings that he was wearing. Haku wiggled his fingers, and all of the kunai dropped to the ground in the hallway of the academy, scattered like children's toys.

The trackers were absolutley stunned by Haku's newfound speed. This was his true speed. In Haku's profile for the trackers to look up, nothing was said about his amazing agility or quickness.

Haku didn't even know what was coming. His body had taken over his mind and actions, and it was almost as if the defensive move was a effortless simple reaction rather than a newfound power that was never seen before.

"Arrgh! Don't give up! Take him down, now!" The sensei yelled, and all of the trackers had suddenly jumped onto him. They were all older, bigger, and more muscular than Haku, so Haku was buried over a crowd of punching fists and kicking feet. It hurt Haku, but Haku was somehow determined to win for the people he cared about.

His nose was bleeding and running, and tears were streaming down his face as he was being attacked with senbon and kunai, but in Haku's mind, it didn't matter.

Haku concentrated on a special power that he didn't even know he had. The academy building's floor started to crack, and then exploded in a series of huge icicles, sending Haku's many enimies flying torwards the celing. Haku's eyes glowed in pure rage as he backfired every attack form above, under, and all around sing pure energy and icy power itself form exploding from his body. His hair grew wild and blew all over the place. He suddenly looked bigger, more muscular. Every attack was repelled, and every single powerful tracker was on the ground, either stunned, badly wounded, or both, but most were knocked out because they had either fainted or hit their head on something hard.

Haku stood up, breathless, looking around, and the look in his eyes itself dared anyone to come close to him. The trackers cowered in fear as the superhuman-like ninja boy was standing breathlessly, wobbling, with his eyes now turning back to their original brown color, his hair still looking pretty frizzy, though, as it was when he was seven. His body returned to normal size.

"I...told you...I could beat anyone I put my mind to..." Haku growled as he spotted the two tracker ninja who had attacked he and Zabuza that morning. They just stared. Even the academy's sensei didn't dare to mess with little Haku anymore.

"And I'll just be taking this too, thank you very much. It belongs to me now," Haku picked up the beautiful tracker ninja mask that lay on the destroyed ground before him. The awake academy students and the tracker sensei watched in amazement as Haku calmly walked put of the hallway, reading the scroll along the way, torwards the cell door.

Haku didn't know what had just happened or came out of him, but he liked it. He liked the power, and liked how he could use it in a way to protect himself and others. He looked at the bottom of the scroll and it had specifically told him what the jutsu was to free his friends.

Haku suddenly realized that it was not the tracker's fault for just doing their job and trying to get rid of the bad guys. After Haku opened the scroll and easily memorized the hand signs for opening the cage, he dropped the scroll he had taken to the ground. He decided not to take the scroll from the building. It was wrong to steal form a school. Having an enemy that didn't stand a chance or that didn't have what they needed made no sense.

Haku wobbled onto his feet, gasping for air. He knew that the energy he had uesd up was bad. He couldn't do that on a regular basis, or else he could wear himself to exaustion or even death. That was not normal. Beyond his extention. He was lucky if he made it back in time before the remaining trackers recovered and caught up to him again.

Haku staggered across the next hallway, clinging onto the wall for support. He was still wounded. His wounds didn't heal quickly at all, especially when they were kunai attacks. He didn't even know his way around the academy, and he had torn up the floor with his "Ice Panic Attack", as he liked to call it.

He searched the academy, and within fifteen minutes of slow-motion staggering, and suffering with every step, Haku finally found his way to the dark hallway that he had come out of, in the secretive section of the building used to hold prisoners. Almost there.

Suddenly, he heard something rush up behind him. Haku gasped as he whipped around to find a single tracker right behind him, with ten senbon lined up in his fingers. How could he have survived Haku's panic attack? He must have been pretty lucky...or strong. The last unharmed tracker.

"Looks like it's the end of the line for you," Haku's new opponent snickered.

_**Meanwhile...**_

Omari was deathly afraid that Haku was dead. She could almost imagine it. She and the others had heard the faint sound of fighting in another part of the building, and she thought she heard floor tiles clinking against the ground during the battle. What was that? Omari was pretty curious, but right now, all she could think about was determining if Haku was still alive out there.

As for Zabuza, he knew what the explosive floor tile sounds were. Whenever Haku panicked, his internal alarm went off, and his Kekkei Genkai powers went nuts with the icicles. Zabuza always chased or bullied Haku around when Zabuza got annoyed by his sensitive nature. He tried to believe that Haku was okay. He almost smiled when he remembered the time Haku had nearly destroyed the hideout when he had seen a centipede crawling in his bed during the summertime. Zabuza hadn't punished Haku or anything, just annoyingly pushed him around untill Haku had fixed the cracked wooden floor. Zabuza didn't show much of his affection for the little guy, but now that Zabuza knew that this was real danger, he was truly worried.

Tarina was also worried. She was keeping time, deciding whether or not to go look for Haku. She had heard some shouts from the trackers, meaning that Haku had been caught. Tarina had been expecting that, but the action out in the academy sounded pretty brutal. She hoped that Haku was at least alive. She didn't care about the information to get set free as much as she did for Haku. And Omari. She would do anything to keep Omari happy. Omari had been a very depressed person when they had found her as a tiny four year old, and Tarina had soon become her best friend and caretaker. Now, Omari cared about Haku, and Tarina knew it. Tarina cared almost as much as she did. He was a really nice kid. Now she could do nothing but wait.

Zamu and Slicer were concerned, but not too worried about Haku. They meant it in a good way. They knew that they shouldn't worry because Haku was a strong kid who didn't look like he'd be giving up anytime soon. Although Zamu was a worrier, and Slicer was a casual, brutal, go-with-the-flow type of guy, they both really cared about Haku and hoped for the best.

Suddenly, Zabuza and the others heard more sounds of combat just outside of the cell door. What was going on now?

"It's Haku! He must be still alive somewhere out there! It sounds like their having a battle!" Omari shrieked in horror.

"Calm down. We don't know if it's Haku or not. Many fights and conflicts happen around this academy. It could just be a schoolyard fight between two students." Tarina pointed out uncertainly.

"But...what about those explosive sounds with the floor? Surely the students would have evacuated if something like that happened," Zamu said reasonably.

"_I dunno-o_." Zabuza singsonged in a worried tone, crossing his arms in the back right corner of the cage. Everyone could tell that Zabuza's wounds and stress was really getting to him.

"Man, this stinks. I'm getting really tired here. It's late. Where's Haku with that jutsu info? And, if the kid was really dead, we'd see all of his blood and guts leaking through the door over there," Slicer said, making sure to keep a casual 'don't know, don't care' tone in his voice.

"_Ohhhh..." _Omari started to sniffle and cry again for the fifth time because of Slicer's gory visions.

"Slicer, look what you did! Again!" Tarina hissed and rushed to Omari's side once more. She sighed and hugged Omari tight. "You know, if Haku were here, I'm sure that he would want you to be brave, right?"

Omari wiped away her tears. "I guess so," She moaned hopelessly. Tarina knew that this was not working at all. They hadn't eaten, slept, or relaxed for a long time now. This was bad, especially since they were wounded and still out of chakr, thanks to the two trackers from before. Slicer's attitude was getting worse, and Zabuza was now humming a cheerful tune to himself, which was scaring Omari, so she cried even harder. What more could go wrong?

_Hurry up, Haku. _Tarina begged in her head with worry. _Me and Zamu are the only sane ones left. If you don't come back soon, we'll all go into complete hysterics!_

_**Back In The Hallway...**_

Haku didn't know what to do. He had no strength left. It was completley hopeless to try and use his secret jutsu. He had almost no chakra left. Maybe he could manage to squeeze a Water Clone out of his body and try to take it from there. But...there were no puddles in the hallway, of course. And the icicles he had created were too far away from Haku to manipulate the water from them.

Haku knew that he had to set his friends free. Even though he was still wounded, and was out of energy, he had to find a way to win. Then he remembered. It was his only chance.

The golden kunai.

Haku had carried it around for years, admiring it, but he had never really used it in battle nor knew how to use it. Many legends were made of people by using an artifact such as this. He knew that it held true power in it if he had enough willpower in his heart. Haku whipped out his precious kunai, and readied it for a counterattack.

The tracker charged wildly without warning, with all ten senbon ready to stab at Haku. Haku dodged and swung the kunai at the tracker. It missed. The tracker poked teasingly and cruelly at Haku about ten times with the senbon, as if Haku were a slimy, weird object on a science table. It didn't hurt that much because the blows were almost gentle.

In pure rage, Haku swung around and kicked the tracker in the face like a wild boar. The young teenage tracker cried out, clutched his nose, and fell to the ground. Haku had enough of getting kicked around all day. He didn't want to show mercy this time. As he raised the kunai over the tracker, the tracker leapt up and punched Haku in the stomach.

Haku quickly recovered and then swung the golden kunai again. It missed. _What's wrong with this thing? I'm doing much better myself without it! _Haku thought with frustration. He put it back in his pocket and then decided to stick with trying unique moves that weren't ususlly used in ninja combat.

When the tracker swung again with a senbon, Haku dodged and slapped the tracker so hard that his mask came flying off. Now Haku was the only one with a tracker's mask on. Doing moves like this helped save the last of his chakra.

"Oh, ho...you're definatley gonna pay for that," The young tracker's now revealed face was bright red with anger. He ran at Haku, full speed, and grabbed his arm before Haku even had time to react. The tracker tackled him and instead of using ninja-like moves like a normal tracker, he went wild on Haku with wild punches and kicks as if the tracker was a fifth-grader beating up a younger student. Immature.

Haku was hurt, but he wasn't going to give up yet. As the tracker was ready to hit Haku again in the face, Haku jumped up again and decided to give the kunai one more shot. Even though he was fighting a totally amatuer tracker-in-training, this boy was pretty strong, and bigger than him.

Haku whipped put the cold, golden weapon, and the tracker pulled out a regular one. He didn't even know that they existed. It was larger than usual, and much shinier and slimmer. Haku could tell that the tracker had been taking good care of it over the years. How could Haku's opponent fight with a weapon like that? If Haku simply knocked it out of his hands, it was over.

"My prized possesion," The tracker growled, breathless, "and it's way more powerful than you think."

Haku nodded, ready for the hand-to-hand combat they were about to have. The tracker charged again, with the regular kunai at the ready. Haku blocked it, and the two weapons clinked together. Haku's weapon was heavier and bigger and had greater power, but the tracker's was swift, light and used in a very skillful manner.

The tracker moved his hand and swung at Haku's stomach. Haku dodged just in time and slashed at the tracker. It didn't slash the tracker himself, but it did rip the tracker's sleeve, which angered him even more. Haku, in pure rage, stabbed vertically at the tracker, putting Haku in danger of cutting himself.

It missed the tracker by a mile. Suddenly, the tracker knocked Haku's kunai out of his hand, and it clattered to the floor. Haku was now defenseless. The tracker once again tripped him and Haku fell. The tracker, unlike Haku, unfortunatley, was completley merciless. Haku turned onto his back, helpless, with a terrified look that the tracker seemed to be enjoying... Haku waited as the tracker raised the kunai...

Haku screamed as he endured the pain.

Luckily, the tracker didn't have good aim, and didn't hit one of Haku's vital organs. Even though it was just his leg, Haku had never endured such pain in his life, about one thousand times worse than when he had to fight Zabuza. He looked up at his opponent with tears in his eyes, ready for the final blow.

Since a tracker was trained to ignore a "criminal's" sufferings, the tracker boy tried to finish little Haku off, and he tried to raise the kunai again, but the pain and suffering of the little boy in the mask who was screaming was almost too much for him. The young tracker's hand trembled in horror, but he knew what he had to do. He looked down at his glass kunai again with determination this time, and he was about to strike when...

_WHAM! _Haku struck the tracker with all of his might when he was distracted by Haku's serious wound. The young tracker cried out, and was stunned. Haku was now on one foot, hanging onto the wall for support. With the last of his chakra, a form of a kunai appeared in his hands, made of pure ice. The tracker gulped and looked down at the icicle kunai in his hands. Somehow, it wasn't dripping or melting. It was indestructable, and practically glowing with power.

_This boy is truly amazing. I...really can't defeat him. He is really innocent, isn't he? True willpower. I can tell, because no evil could actually hold the power of friendship. Since this boy can, he is determined. I can sense it. I must give up now. Even though his kunai has missed me many times, it comes closer and closer with every swing, and if I come at him again, then I will surely die. The golden kunai and the boy have...somehow bonded. It has made him stronger... _The tracker thought with pure astonishment.

"I'll...destroy you," Haku warned. "I really will. I'll do anything...to save...my friends..." He struggled a bit as he reached down and picked up the golden kunai as well, now completley armed to fight to he death, even with his wounded leg.

"I...I..."The young tracker was sweating in fear. He didn't want to fight anymore, but he couldn't just get the words out. He was still a trainee, and he was the kind of concited ninja who was reluctant to accept defeat, and he knew it.

Haku charged, running with both feet. How could this be? The tracker dodged out of the way just in time, but Haku leapt up, slashed again, and this time, it the kunai hit the tracker. The tracker cried out, and fell to the ground, clutching his side. The cut wasn't bad, but...

The tracker stood up shakily, whimpering like a baby. He had never experienced pain like that before in his life. Haku just stood there, not charging again. The young tracker realized that Haku was experiencing even more pain. Poor Haku was biting his lip to keep from screaming, he was breathing heavily, and his feet were shaky. But there was no doubt that he was still ready for battle.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I can't fight you any longer..." The young tracker pleaded.

The tracker was expecting for Haku to just laugh cruelly and then charge again like any other captive, Haku just smiled weakly and nodded. "It looks like this is a draw, huh? So, what happens next?" Haku asked.

"I... can't fight you. I have to let you leave, if that is what you wish. I know you don't mean any harm, and you just want to save your friends. Oh yeah, and thanks for letting me out of this. I thought you wee going to kill me without question." The tracker admitted.

"I'm not really ninja material, you know. I don't kill or fight unless I'm forced to. I'm not like the other shinobi," Haku said breathlessly.

"I've really learned something form you today. Now I know that I could really get into trouble if I don't know when to give up on a fight." The tracker said. "I want to wish you...good luck in protecting yourself and others. That's quite some power you've got there."

"Really? Thanks." Haku looked down at his golden kunai, then his other one that he had just created. It somehow had hardened and turned into a glassy material, although it still felt cold in his hands. He wiped the messy golden one off and turned it so it would glimmer.

"Now, get outta our academy. You know, before the others find you." The wounded tracker smiled weakly at Haku, who beamed back.

"Okay...goodbye, then," Haku waved, almost upset that he had to leave the kind tracker. He beamed as the young tracker that was no longer his adversary made a hand sign and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_**Meanwhile, Back In The Cell...**_

"Oh my gosh! He's really dead now! I heard his screaming and yelling! The trackers must have..." Omari was now hysterical. Ever since she had heard Haku's scream, and then silence, she had been going balsitic, by pacing, screaming, and crying. Tarina was now crying, too. She knew that Haku was hurt.

"No. Calm down, everyone. He's still alive out there. He has to be. Don't worry, he'll be back..." Slicer grumbled loudly.

"What?! You're the one who's been saying that he's been made into sushi by now! What are you talking about?!" Omari screamed. "I like that guy, but we just have to face the facts!"

Zabuza was sill humming, trying to keep from getting into the craziness. Zamu had his head into his hands in the corner, and hadn't said anything in over fifteen minutes. Tarina had been watching Omari and Slicer go back and forth for what seemed like hours. Tarina had been spending for what seemed like hours cursing and yelling for everyone to be quiet. Compared to the others, Tarina knew that she was the one who was really being crazy.

Taina had even dragged Omari away from Slicer twice, and Omari had slapped her arm. Tarina would have usually hit her back, hard, but she knew better than to start combat with the person that she cared about most. Besides, if Omari ever released her Kekkei Genkai, Tarina and the others could die in a second. Especially at times like this. Tarina finally had simmered down and decided to sit somewhere else.

Tarina tried to comfort herself by thinking of the first time Omari had really hit Tarina when she got mad. Tarina never got mad at Omari when Omari hit her, because she knew that it was not easy being the littlest in the group, and because Omari's blows didn't hurt her the least bit. The first time Omari hit her, which was about five or six years ago, Tarina actually thought it was funny. Omari got even more mad and had hit Tarina again. When that had happened, Tarina decided to have some cruel fun and grabbed Omari and hit her back, then started laughing again, which had made Omari pout and eventually cry. Tarina remembered when Omari didn't really like Tarina as much about six years ago. When Tarina and Omari had been within two years of meeting each other, Tarina enjoyed making Omari cry.

Those memories comforted Tarina. If she got out of this alive, she would try not to make Omari cry on purpose again, because she knew it was mean, even though the very thought of it put a tiny smile on her face. Now, Tarina lay on her side, thinking about how Omari would be depressed for the rest of her life because of Haku. She couldn't even imagine how it would be. Omari and Tarina wouldn't be happy and nice to each other anymore, and they would probably get along just as well as they did when they had first met, which wasn't very good.

Suddenly, Omari crawled next to her and lay down on her side, facing Tarina.

"If...he is really gone...you and I will still be buddies, right?" Omari smiled weakly. "If I lose one friend, my life wont be any better if I lose my best friend."

Tarina was stunned with Omari's mature attitude. "Um...Right! We'll always stick together!" She said in the most cheerful tone she could muster. "And, Omari...? I'm sorry if I've ever hurt your feelings or made fun of you. I really don't mean it. Just because you're a bit younger, I know I shoudn't do it."

"No, that's okay, because I know you're just joking. I mean, it doesn't really hurt my feelings. It's kind of fun when you're like that." Omari admitted. "I just wish Haku was here, too..." She suddenly got tears in her eyes again. "I really don't want to cry..."

"No. Cry as much as you want. I want you to get your feelings out. It's not good to keep it all bottled up inside of you." Tarina patted her on the back and smiled.

Omari was beginning to feel exausted. I was near midnight now. Her internal shadow-like Kekkei Genkai could sense the darkness. She was getting tired. Tarina, Slicer, and Zamu were tired, too. They all had similar Kekkei Genkais, meaning that the Kingpin Kunais' ancestors were from the same clan. They could sense and feel the mood of the weather, and tell wheteher it was light or dark. Omari suddenly fell asleep, which suprised Tarina. Omari had worn herself out with all of the energy she had wasted by crying and screaming all day.

After about five more minutes of laying on the floor, relaxing next to the slightly snoring Omari, Tarina looked around and gasped. She and Zabuza were the only ones awake! _Zabuza's humming and singing must have knocked them all out,_ Tarina thought grimly.

Suddenly the door creaked open. Tarina thought with horror that it must be the trackers, come to kill them all. _Oh, no! Looks like we're not going to get out of here alive. Well, at least Omari wont be awake to see it happen. _Tarina was about to huddle to the back of the cage when she saw who it was at the door.

Instead of two huge, muscular trackers in black cloaks and senbon at the ready, a small, panting boy came in the cell instead. It was Haku! Tears filled with joy filled Tarina's eyes and they streamed down her face as she silently started to cry.

"Haku...?" Zabuza whispered, standing up and stepping to the bars of the cage with Tarina. His eyes were wide with disbelief as Haku staggered into the room. He had a pained look on his face for some reason, but his eyes were full of triumph.

Without a word, Haku shakily raised his hands and recalled in his mind what the secret hand signs were for the opening to the cage door. Haku quickly made a few strange hand signs, and the cage door slowly swung open. They were now free.

Tarina was shocked. Not only did Haku come back alive, but he had also gotten the jutsu for setting them free!

Tarina gasped as she saw Haku's bleeding leg. It was horrible. As Haku walked slowly and cautiously into the cage, Zabuza and Tarina began to take part of what was left of Haku's tattered green robe and put a strip of it on Haku's wound, serving as a potential bandage for him.

"Haku. Wow. I can't believe that you would do something like that...just for us. Thank you." Tarina got all choked up. She grabbed Haku and hugged him as tightly as she could, overwhelmed that Haku had saved their lives once again.

"Haku...you did well." Zabuza said. He didn't hug Haku or anything, but Haku knew that he was pretty relieved.

"What about Omari? How is she?" Haku asked nervously.

Tarina pointed to Omari's sleeping form on the ground in the back of the cage. "Over there. She hasn't been taking it too well. She's been really worried, Haku. I told her I wouldn't say this, but...I think she really likes you." Tarina said as Haku looked in Omari's direction.

Haku hobbled over to and kneeled. He slightly shook her, trying to wake her up. "Hey, Omari?"

Omari heard voices, but she couldn't tell who's at first. She wondered where she was. Everything was a blur. She felt sick, and opened her eyes to blurriness, which is the natural first stage of waking up. Her mind refreshed, and as soon as she remembered Haku's scream...she remembered that all hope was lost...

Omari's eyes popped open all the way and her vision soon cleared. She gasped as she woke up to see Haku's worried face. Could this be...? How could this be possible? Was she dreaming?

She reached out and slowly touched his arm. It was real. Haku really was alive! Haku looked really tired and worn out, but he was still alive. Omari sat up. She looked at the open door of the cage and gasped again. Haku had saved them all and set them free! He was like her hero now.

While Omari was still in shock, Haku slightly shook her again. "Um...Omari? Are you O.K?"

"HAKU! You're alive! And you're not dog food!" Omari shrieked at the top of her lungs and gave him a hug and began crying all over again. Haku wondeed why she was crying and missed her so much. He was a bit confused at first, but he grasped the situation at last when he remembered what Tarina had told him. He hugged her back.

"Well, Omari..." Haku smiled at her. "I probably wouldn't have survived without the golden kunai that you gave me before. It was really the tool that helped me survive in the end. I carry it around all of the time. It was the only weapon I had at the time, so I really owe it to you for me being alive."

Omari was flattered that Haku carried around her golden kunai everywhere. "I can't believe that you saved us all again, Haku. I was...really worried." She said.

"Well, to pay you back, I want to give you this...as a sign of my friendship." Haku pulled out the glassy kunai he had made during his battle with the young tracker in the hallway.

Omari took it in her shaky hands. "Really? Th-thank you. It's beautiful. Where did you get something like this from?" She was shocked. She loved to collect kunais, but the really important thing was that it was from Haku.

"I made it," Haku said proudly. "I made it in battle when I was thinking about how I had to set you guys free. It's made out of ice, but as long as we're still friends, it wont shatter or melt. I just wanted you to keep it."

"Oh...Haku..." Omari whimpered as Haku blushed and scratched his head in embarassment. Omari held it in her hands as if Haku had given her the world's most fragile and valuable diamond. At first, Haku thought of it as overreacting, but he knew how Omari felt about him. He couldn't decide if he felt the same way. He had seen Omari staring all of the time when she thought he wasn't looking over the past five years. They had their own squads, so its not like they had spoken on a regular basis.

Haku realized that he was overthinking this. All in all, he liked her, but Omari's excitment and sensitive emotions could take some getting used to.

"Hmmm..." Tarina pretended to observe Haku and Omari sitting together, without words. She could tell that Haku was havng an unsure moment, and Omari was having a very delicate one. The perfect time to mess things up. "Hey, Haku, you better watch out. I think Omari's going to try and kiss you now," She grinned, trying to liven things up.

"Aaaaahgh! Tarina, why do you do things like that to me all the time?! I certainly was not about to do that! Why, Tarina? Just when we were-" Omari started to shriek.

"Oh, I'm sorry for ruining your _romantic _moment," Tarina drawled and then started to laugh. While Omari was fuming, but what made Tarina really laugh was the look on Haku's face, who was shocked from that peice of information, wondering if it was true.

Zabuza shook his head, not approving of Tarina's childishness. "At twenty years old, after all we've been through, you still haven't lost your touch. Isn't that something..."

Slicer and Zamu were dumbfounded, once again.

Tarina was still giggling and wiping her eyes as Omari's face was bright red. She wasn't too mad, though. She knew that Tarina was just overjoyed that they were finally saved, so she let it go. She sighed as she turned to Haku, who was without words, still very, very confused.

"Please just ignore her...when she does that, it's usually not-" Omari started to say to Haku.

"True? I wouldn't be too sure about that. Did Haku mention what I told him about you?" Tarina giggled.

"Ahh! You did not tell him that I-" Omari gasped.

"I told Haku that you like him when you were sleeping. Aren't I clever?" Tarina said in a fake high pitched voice.

Omari groaned in embarassent, shook her head, and put her head in her hands. Tarina was famous for doing this to her teammates. But the bad thing was that she could keep secrets for Slicer and Zamu, but acted as if Omari's didn't mean anything.

Haku thought it was funny, and he knew it was true of what Tarina told him, by looking at Omari's reactions and embarassment. Yet, he was careful not to laugh because he didn't want Omarito feel bad. He tried to change the subject. "Hey, shouldn't we get going now? I mean, it's getting late, and one tracker tod me to leave before the others come back."

Omari shot a grateful look at Haku and nodded. "Yeah, we don't wanna get caught again."

"But...what about my sword?!" Zabuza wailed.

"Um...it's right here, outside of the cage, in that corner over there. The trackers must have left it there." Haku went out of the cage and pointed. Zabuza stood up, despite his wounds, and rushed over to his precious sword. He picked it up and put it into it's place. The others followed him out of the cage.

They quickly rushed out of the partially destroyed academy and their walk home was easy. Their nerves finally calmed down and they slowed down a bit in their pace to relax and talk.

Omari turned red once again as Tarina brought up the dreaded subject again. "If we could go back in time and I had left you alone while you were talking to Haku, how much would you bet that you woudn't try to kiss him?" She asked Omari. Haku looked at them with interest.

"I would bet one hundred million, trillion, coins that I wouldn't." Omari shot back. She knew Haku was listening. Even Zabuza's ears were set to the conversation. Zabuza was trying not to make his eavesdropping obvious, but everyone knew it, considering how close Zabuza walked with the younger group.

"I would bet your icicle kunai that you would," Tarina said effortlessly. Her comeback impressed Haku and Zabuza. But it sure didn't impress Omari.

Omari didn't know how to respond to this, but her face sure showed her emotions.

"Well, now that I've just fried you in this debate, now it's time to admit that you were going to," Tarina snickered triumphantly, waiting for an answer form Omari.

"Yeah, but, why would I try to kiss anyone when you guys are all around me? That wouldn't make any sense, especially because you always say that I'm too shy and sensitive." Omari said.

"Your not as sensitive as you think. For the past five years, you've been worshipping every ground Haku's walked on. And you told me that you liked him, and you know that I can't hold a secret of yours for long. You were just _dying_ to let the world know." Tarina said.

Omari sighed. She knew that Tarina wasn't being mean, but was just being a clown, as usual. Tarina wasn't specifically trying to be mean, but just funny. She had always enjoyed teasing with poor Omari, and Omari thought it was funny, too. But when it was in front of Haku, that was a different story.

Haku looked at Omari, then Tarina, who were starting to go back and forth again, feeling sorry for Omari. Zabuza picked with him sometimes, too. Any pair of friendly shinobi with one partner about eight years older than the other always ended up in this. The older one usually ended up being the leader, and the dominant one. He decided to speak up and use his own sesne of humor to save Omari from a lifetime sentence of humiliation.

"You know, it's not for certain that _Omari_ was the one who was trying." Haku said slowly in a dramatic tone.

This sure got some attention.

"Oh, no. Here we go," Zabuza moaned and slapped his hand to his head. Haku just kept smiling.

Omari's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, shocked.

Tarina turned torwards Haku, with a mischevious look in her sparkling silver eyes. They could all tell that she was hungry for new juicy information. "Oh, really?" She smirked as she nudged Omari.

"Of course. I like her too, you know," Haku said truthfully.

"Please, _please, _tell me that you're kidding," Zabuza begged and shook his head.

Haku shook his head. "I'm just saying, why are you just teasing Omari? I mean, why not ask me, too? I can tell that she's had more than enough of her share of teasing." Haku shrugged.

"Haku...I thought that you...didn't like me." Omari said. "You just look so uncomfortable, I just..." She was still in shock.

Haku walked over to the side of the road Omari was on and put his arm around her shoulder. "You're my friend. Why wouldn't I?" He said as Omari bit her lip nervously and suddenly looked down at the pavement as they walked on.

Tarina giggled. "Oh, I get it now. So, she's not the only one to blame, huh? Wow. Guess I was wrong. So you're both in love. Isn't that adorable?" She cooed as she nudged Zabuza's shoulders, who cackled.

Haku wasn't expecting that. "Huh?! Well, um, I wouldn't say..."

Tarina and Zabuza started to cackle. Haku knew that when the Kingpin Kunais went home, he definatley wouldn't be hearing the last of this, especially after what Zabuza had heard. Omari felt the same way and got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Haku had saved her from being completley left out, but now Haku had to deal with Zabuza's teasings.

When they all reached The Kingpin Kunai's hideout, everybody said their goodbyes, and admitted that their horrible experience ws quite an adventure for all of them. The Kingpin Kunais thanked Haku once again for saving their necks out of the tracker's clutches.

Omari shyly waved at Haku. "Um, goodbye, Haku."

Haku hugged her, gave her a slight kiss on the cheek, and said goodbye. Omari was in shock, once again, unable to help herself from going into her mini-coma that she went into whenever Haku spoke to her. Her hand shot up to her cheek as Haku and Zabuza finally left.

Tarina had missed the goodbye kiss but realized that something was up when she saw the now paralyzed Omari. "What? What is it?" She begged Omari to tell, shaking her.

Omari shook herself out of her trance, and was unafraid to tell Omari this time. She took out her icicle kunai that would never melt and clutched it with both hands. "He kissed my cheek again. And I don't care what you say. I like him." She declared to all of her teammates.

Zamu scratched his head. Slicer was getting it. He chuckled and followed Zamu into their hideout.

"Which is why I'm not going to tease you anymore about that." Tarina said in the most mature tone that Omari had ever heard her speak in.

"Huh?!" Omari had been expecting something entirely different.

"I can't tease you anymore about you liking Haku anymore. You've declared it to yourself and to me, proving to me that you're not afraid to accept your own opinions and pride yourself on that. That's why I'm not going to laugh about it anymore." Tarina said patting Omari on the shoulder.

"Wow. Thanks, Tarina." Omari said in a hushed voice.

Tarina suddenly grinned and started walking away. "But that still doesn't change our little discussion about you reading baby books, now, does it?"

"What?!" Omari had been caught off guard. "I do not, for the thousandth time! You are so mean! I cant's believe you always go from one subject to another! Just because you caught me reading _The Brave Little Genin _that one time-" She started to scream in embarassment.

"Whatever," Tarina shrugged and went into the house, chanting "Crybaby," to Omari over and over again. Omari knew that Tarina would never change. She sighed and ran into the hideout, too, ready to defend herself over Omari liking to read baby books or not.

However, Omari was stil grateful that the subject of Haku was gone, because she had finally learned to accept her own opinions and not being afraid to admit them. This made her anticipate even more and more when she would go on her next mission with Haku.

_**Go To The Next Chapter!**_

**_Hey! How did you like that chapter? Please read and review. Flame me if you must, because I know the romance thing is a bit over the top. Hey! I you review me, I really want you to tell me your opinion mainly about Omari and Haku, what you think of my character Tarina, and what you want from the next chapter. See ya!_**


	6. The Temporary Squad Member

_**Chapter 6.**_

"I'm sorry to give you another squad member on such short notice, but this new recruit that I hired really needs to shape up before his first mission," Gato was saying, sitting on Zabuza's living room couch. He had come in early in the morning the next day, with little Haku and Zabuza still in their pajamas, telling them about their new temporary squad member.

"Short notice?! You didn't notify us about this at all!" Zabuza was outraged at this new peice of information. "We're not even a squad! We're just two guys working for you. What else is there to call it?"

"Fine. Then you'll now be called 'Three Guys Working For Me'. How does that sound?" Gato said smoothly.

"What he's saying is that we're not a squad altogether." Little Haku piped up. "A squad is made up of four people. A jonin leader, then three other lower-ranked ninja. I mean, take the Kingpin Kunais for example. That's a real squad. Tarina's the jonin leader, and Omari, Slicer, and Zamu are the lower-ranked members. Zabuza and I aren't organized like that."

Zabuza nodded in agreement, looking at Gato for an answer to Haku's mini-lesson.

"Then you'll be a mini-squad. Listen, just do what I tell you. This kid's a real wreck, but I know he's a strong guy. I thought you guys will be perfect to be the ones to whip him into shape. Haku could be his mentor. You guys aren't exactly the same age, but I'm sure you'll manage to keep the runt in line till he gets stronger." Gato said.

"Oh..." Haku moaned. He didn't want to be anyone's mentor, whether it was an honor or not. He didn't care if the kid little or not. Especially if the new squad member was "a real wreck."

"Fine. Whatever. How long do I have to put up with this brat?" Zabuza grumbled.

"As long as you need to. He was abandoned on the streets before, and he's not even a genin yet, but he's been to a shinobi academy before. His social and techineque skills aren't up to par, I guess. That's why he never graduated. He needs to become a ninja, and you're the ones who can make it happen." Gato explained. "Besides, I'm paying you double this time." He added quickly.

"Great. Just what we need. A smart-mouthed weakling that wont shut up." Zabuza sighed, but he liked it when he got payed double. He looked over at Haku, who was too upset to say anything. Haku went back to reading the newspaper. Zabuza knew that he had been defeated.

"Good. Now that it's all settled, I can leave. One of my employees will escort him over here at around dusk, so be ready." Gato said triumphantly, and strutted out of Zabuza and Haku's secret hideout, leaving poor Haku and Zabuza shocked, nervous, and very annoyed.

_**6:30 P.M**_

"So, you're telling me that Gato just decided to let some little brat in your hideout, and make you train him untill he can prove himself as a ninja?" Tarina said in disbelief. "How rude of him."

"I know...I'm really irritated." Haku said. Tarina and Omari had come over to visit while Zamu and Slicer were on a special mission together. Haku knew that Omari and Tarina were interested in what Haku's "new squad member" was like. They were now in Haku's room, playing a game of marbles while they waited for the kid to come.

"Hey, maybe we can all go somewhere...to the plaza, and bring the new squad member with us, and maybe he'll be nice," Omari sugested. "Zabuza told us that we could go out and do whatever we wanted tonight."

"Well, good luck with that. I have to stay here all night to help Zabuza figure out the training methods he has to use to help this kid become a ninja, while you guys can go and have fun." Tarina sighed.

"Gato said that the kid's a wreck. I don't know what that means in particular, but I don't think it'll be good..." Haku said. "It's not like I'm judging him or anything, it's just that when Gato talks about someone like that, he means it."

Before anyone could reply, Omari, Tarina, and Haku heard a sharp knock at the door. Omari and Tarina helped Haku sweep up the marbles into a cloth marble sack, and Haku put them back in his toy chest. They stood up, and all rushed to greet the new guest at the door.

Zabuza stood up from watching television and sighed. He stood up, and opened the door to the pine tree-like hideout. A red-haired ninja that was most likely one of Gato's toadies stood with a boy at the doorway.

"Heh-heh. I really don't need to explain, because I'm sure that Gato has already broke the news today," The red-haired ninja giggled. "Looks like the Demon Of the Hidden Mist has to baby-sit tonight." He laughed cruelly as he pushed the boy ahead.

"Ooh, just shut up and leave. Thanks for the escort." Zabuza grumbled as Gato's toady cracked up and ran away. Everyone looked at the boy as he hesitantly walked into the hideout, shutting the door behind him.

Zabuza was a bit suprised to see that the boy somewhat looked like Haku. He glanced at the little boy, then at Haku. The boy was younger than Haku by about three or four years, had dark, long back hair, although it was a bit shorter and had more wild bangs than Haku. He dressed casually in a gray plain outfit, and had deep, dark eyes. The look in his eyes gave him a permanent playful, mischevious expression, which was way different than Haku.

Tarina decided she liked him, Omari looked suspicious, and Haku was just plain irritated. Zabuza wasn't sure of this kid altogether. He knew that this kid would be cocky and a trouble maker. He could tell by the look in his eyes. He knew that Haku would hate this kid, no matter what sort of personality he had, and that slightly worried Zabuza.

"_Ahem!_" Tarina hissed scoldingly at Zabuza and nudged him after ten seconds of just standing there by the doorway.

"Oh! Uh...hello..." Zabuza stammered, not knowing what to call this kid.

"Kamichi." The boy said plainly.

"Kamichi. Okay, then. Well, my name is Zabuza, and Haku and I will be training you for the next week or so untill you mature in skills enough to join a real squad. This is Haku, and these are our friends, Tarina and Omari." Zabuza guestured to the three of them. "Haku's gonna show you around, and tell you the rules around here." Zabuza explained to the boy after he guestured for Kamichi to come in and sit down.

"Uh, actually, Haku and I were going to the plaza at the center of the Hidden Mist Village, remember?" Omari said to Zabuza. "We were thinking that Kamichi could come along, too." She said.

"So much for staying at the plaza till midnight. It'll be way past the kid's bedtime." Haku muttered under his breath.

"Oh. Good idea, then." Zabuza said, nodding. "You guys had better go before it gets too late," He said, nodding torwards the door.

"Have fun, you guys," Tarina sighed. "Zabuza and I will still be here when you get back."

"Heh-heh. After all of these years, a jonin rouge ninja of the Hidden Mist still wants to go to the mall with her friends," Zabuza chuckled as Tarina waved at them.

Kamichi, Haku, and Omari began their walk in the cold, snowy, December night to the inside plaza, with Omari and Haku side by side, little Kamichi quickly tagged along behind them. Omari and Haku held back a bit after a while and decided to pay the kid some attention so he wouldn't feel left out.

Before Haku or Omari could say anything, Kamichi immediatley took the opportunity to talk. "So, uh...I have to train with _you_ to get stronger?" He asked Haku.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Haku said, not liking the way Kamichi said "you".

Kamichi snickered. "Well, it's just that I thought I would be training with that big, muscular guy back there. You don't look that strong," He said.

Haku thought about punishing the brat, but he couldn't. It was mean, and he didn't want to upset Omari. "You know, size or age never matters in combat. Usually, it's the rank that a person wants to observe in a real battle. For instance, you're only a genin-in-training, and I'm a chunin. That indicates a huge difference in battle, so if you and I were to have a battle, a genin-in-training would usually back out right away. Courage and willpower and skill also plays a big part, too." Haku explained. Both Omari and Kamichi were listening intently.

Well, at least Omari was.

"Size does too matter. I mean, if you and that Zabuza guy had a fight, wouldn't size matter when Zabuza could take his huge hands and squish your head into a big pancake?" Kamichi said. Omari sighed and Haku grimaced in annoyance.

"Zabuza and I had a sparring match before." Haku said. "And I won."

"Not a scratch on you?" Kamichi sneered.

"Well, of course there were some damages done." Haku said nervously.

"Did he squish your head? What did he do to try and destroy you during the battle? How'd you win?" Kamichi went on.

"No. He didn't squish my head. Where did you even get that idea? And if he did, I'd be dead by now, wouldn't I?" Haku grumbled, as irritated as could be.

"See what I mean? He could have squished your head because of the fact that he's ten times more muscular than you. He was just going easy on you. He could have held you to a wall, took his fist and destroyed you in one blow." Kamichi said.

"But he didn't. You see, it all has to do with skill and intelligence. He could have done that, but he wasn't thinking about it. Your theory is totally illogical. How old are you, anyway?" Haku asked.

"I'm eight years old." Kamichi said proudly.

"Oh. I'm twelve years old." Haku said. "I've lived longer, and I've been well educated on the way of the ninja, while you depend things on size and age. That's why I'm going to have to train you tomorrow." He said.

"So, if we had a sparring match tomorrow..." Kamich began.

"Whoa. You are really not ready for something like that yet." Haku interrupted.

"Why not?" Kamichi whined in the most annoying tone Haku had ever heard.

"Because I said so." Haku shot back meaner than he had intended.

"See? You're just saying that because you know that your bigger than me. Just because your a chunin doesn't mean you can beat me up in combat." Kamichi accused.

"Technically, it does mean that he can beat you in battle. You're not even a qualified ninja yet. I've seen what he can do." Omari broke into the conversation at last.

"Have you and Tarina ever had a sparring match? She looks really tough. If you guys ever fought, did she hurt you badly?" Kamichi asked her.

Haku wanted to punch Kamichi. Omari did, too, but she decided to be nice for now. "Uh, yes. We never fought out of conflict, but he have had one or two sparring matches for training."

"Who won?"

"Tarina beat me by a mile, and it did take some time to recover. But, that still doesn't mean anything. Tarina is smart, strong, and a specialized jonin, and she deserved to win." Omari admitted.

Kamich seemed to not understand, but Haku and Omari decided to let it go. Haku would love to have a sparring match with Kamichi, and see if he was all talk, but he had to talk that over with Zabuza first. Besides, it could hurt Kamichi. Haku knew that a ninja-in-training like Kamichi that believed in size and not skill would painfully learn his lesson sooner or later. That was a true fact. He found it sad, but Kamichi was a brat. What more could Haku do for now?

As they arrived at the outside of the plaza, Kamichi began running off to the top of the stairs to the doorway of a two-story store, leaning over the edge, grinning. Haku and Omari were worried that he would fall.

"Hey, get down from there! You'll get hurt!" Haku yelled at him.

"Heh heh..." Kamichi giggled and then Haku saw Kamichi squat down on the snowy ground, pick up a huge, hard snowball, and hurled it at Haku's head. The snow boulder crashed onto Haku and he fell to the ground with a thud, spitting a mouthful of snow out.

"You're not so strong after all!" Kamichi yelled triumphantly at Haku, who glared from below.

"You brat, just wait untill I get up there! You'll be sorry!" Haku growled at Kamichi.

Kamichi giggled, and stayed put untill Omari and Haku met him at the top of the stairs.

"You know, Kamichi, you look like Haku, but you two are nothing alike." Omari observed as Haku angrily finished brushing the snow from his robe.

"Especially because Haku is so obsessed with trying to keep his pretty clothes clean," Kamichi said sarcastically, pointing at Haku, who was getting the last of the dirt and snow off of his pants. Haku grumbled something under his breath, but Kamichi wasn't concerned.

"Let's just get going." Haku sighed, finally calming down.

The next three hours was horrid for Haku and Omari, with Kamichi acting hyper and making fun of Haku's proper, mannerful ways. It annoyed Haku, but if Zabuza let him, Haku would train him tomorrow untill Kamichi was gasping for breath as a punishment. On the walk home, Kamichi decided to confront Haku.

"Why are you being so mean to me?" Kamichi demanded Haku.

"I'm not being mean, you're just being obnoxious." Haku said in a strict tone.

"Next, you'll be wanting me to call you sensei!" Kamichi cried.

"I've never really even thought about that. Now that you've mentioned it, I like the idea." Haku said, which made Kamichi grumble and whine untill they finally arrived to the hideout.

"How'd it go?" Tarina wanted to know at the second they opened the door. She and Zabuza were sitting on the couch, looking at a coffee table full of papers.

"Uh, okay, I guess..." Omari said in a somewhat peachy tone. Tarina motioned for Omari to take Kamichi and go play in Haku's room while Haku sat one a chair and sighed, ready to listen and discuss the lesson plan.

"How did it _really _go?" Zabuza said curiously.

"It went horrible. The kid is a brat, he didn't listen to us, and he totally disrespects me. How am I supossed to train him?" Haku finally got it off of his chest.

"Heh heh heh..." Tarina cackled. "My favorite type of trainee. You see Haku, this is the kind of kid that you can be as harsh as you have to be. It's pretty hard being so mean, but it's what you have to do. Just like how Zabuza trained you."

"Why does it have to be the way Zabuza trained me?" Haku asked.

"A shy, hesitant little runt like you had to have harsh training to get braver, stronger, and more confident, so that's why I was so hard on you. Since I've trained you that way, you've become stronger and more observant. A kid like Kamichi is the same way. A kid like him actually has no confidence, has too much bravery, and doesn't know when he's met his match. He needs the same type of care." Zabuza explained.

"Then shouldn't you be the one to train him?" Haku said. "Because I'm not sure if I can do that."

"Haku, I know that you're soft, but you have to put your foot down, and force him to do whatever he needs to do. If he doesn't listen, just punish him by taking away something that he needs or wants. I'm sure he's just dying for a sparring match with you, right?" Zabuza asked.

"He asked me about that, but I told him he's not ready." Haku said.

"Good. Because he's really not ready. Even though he's not ready, you and him are going to do it anyway." Zabuza said.

Haku was confused. "Huh?"

"Just like you. When you were little, I knew that you weren't ready to face me yet, but I had to see if you were ready," Zabuza said. "I knew that you needed much more than just a little sparring match, but I had to see the status of your strength, intelligence, skills, strong points, weak points, and envirornment interactions." Zabuza said.

"But..."

"You may have won, which suprised me, but I still took mental notes of what you needed when you used your Kekkei Genkai on me. If some way, somehow, Kamichi beats you, you can't let your defeat get in the way. Pay attention to how he fights. As you have learned, one win does not make one a perfect ninja. Kamichi needs to know that size and age doesn't matter, and that there will always be ninja that are different from him." Zabuza said.

"But...I don't want to hurt him." Haku said.

"You have to in the line of duty." Tarina said. "I had to do the same thing with poor Omari, and whatever sparring matches I put her through, she barely managed to make it out of training. At first, she hated me and thought I was too rough, but after I trained her for a while and taught her all that I know, she became a true ninja and we became best friends."

"Okay then." Haku agreed.

"So, you know what to do tomorrow, right?" Tarina asked.

"Yep."

"Good." Zabuza nodded.

Haku didn't want to do this to Omari, but he had to get away from Kamichi and think about what lay ahead tomorrow for him. "Uh, Zabuza, is it okay if I go out in the back and practice my aim a bit?"

Zabuza cackled. "Oh, that Kamichi kid is really in for a treat tomorrow," He said to Tarina, who grinned back. He turned back to Haku. "Sure, go ahead."

Haku got up from the living room chair and went outside to practice.

Meanwhile, instead of paying attention to the board game that Omari had set out for him, Kamichi secretly had used his one and only mastered hearing-aid-like jutsu to eavesdrop on what Zabuza, Tarina, and Haku were talking about. he had other jutsus, but he could use a little work on both of them. His mastered Eavesdropping Jutsu, as he liked to call it, could listen to anyone talking up to thirty yards away. It didn't use up any chakra, but didn't have any effect in combat at all. When he was listening, he heard that he could finally fight Haku.

But...after hearing about what Zabuza had said about Haku and Omari's training days, he was a bit worried. He had never really considered that great ninja skills from Tarina and Zabuza had to somewhat rub off on Omari and Haku while training. Zabuza had taught everything he knew to Haku, and he had heard something about a "Kekkei Genkai". What was all of that about? Kamichi had only heard two adults talk about it once a few years ago in a conversation, and one of the adults had mentioned the word, "monster". Geez.

"Omari, I have to use the bathroom," Kamichi declared to Omari in a loud tone.

Omari looked embarassed. "Uh, okay, go ahead then. You can just finish your turn when you come back." She nodded torawrds the door.

Instead of using the bathrom, Kamichi snuck past it, torwards the back door. He wanted to see how Haku was practicing, just out of plain curiousity. He also wanted to see what to watch it out for in the sparring match. Kamichi knew that he wasn't even supossed to know that he was going to have a sparring match. Kamichi didn't want to call it cheating. He thought of it as "studying".

Haku slid open the back door, and saw Haku practicing in the dark. He made sure he wasn't seen. As soon as he was in full veiw, he observed what Haku was doing. He saw Haku take out about fifteen long, deadly needles. Kamichi gulped. He had seen kunais and a few shuriken before, but never these weapons. Kamichi wondered what Haku was going to do with them.

Haku turned torwards three targets in the yard. Kamichi hadn't even noticed them. Haku had five of the scary-looking needles in his hand. He threw them out without much effort. All of them hit the targets. Haku picked up one of the other ones. He aimed it torawrds a completley different area. He quickly shot it at a pole. It bounced off, then hit the middle target.

Kamichi quivered. He hoped that Haku didn't take those mean jokes too seriously. Kamichi hoped that a sparring match meant that you couldn't stab people with needles or kill them. He wondered if Haku was really mad and was practicing his aim because he wanted to get Kamichi back. Kamichi tried not to be worried, but he couldn't help himself, watching Haku train in such a powerful and serious way. He wanted to know what the Kekkei Genkai thing was all about. But, if he told Haku or Zabuza that he wanted to back out, he would prove that he was a chicken. Also, Kamichi knew that Haku would question how Kamichi even new about the sparring match.

The sparring match. A perfect way to train.

And a perfect way to get killed.

**_I hope all you readers out there understand that Haku really doesn't intend to kill Kamichi. Keep in mind that Kamichi's only eight years old, and doesn't understand the concepts of a ninja yet, so he basically thinks that our hero Haku is out to get him. Try to think like a kid like him, and you'll see why he thinks that way. Please read and review soon!!!_**

_**Go To The Next Chapter!!!**_


	7. Haku and Kamichi's Sparring Match

_**Chapter 7.**_

The next morning came as fast as a lightning bolt for Kamichi, and yet it came so slow for Haku. Neither of them could sleep, but they didn't know that about each other. Tarina and Omari had gone back to their own nearby hideout at about midnight last night.

Haku woke up with a jolt, and got dressed quickly and quietly for the day, being careful not to wake Kamichi up. He had sensed Kamichi's presence during his conversation with Zabuza, and had felt it when he was training outside. He knew what Kamichi was up to, and that made him look forward to the sparring match even more. They were both curious about each other, and that was good.

Kamichi heard Haku stepping back and forth over him on his sleeping bag, trying to get ready for the day. Kamichi was too scared to get up the same time Haku and start talking to him. He had dreamt about those needles. He dreamt about how powerful these ninja around him were and how foolish he had been to mess with them. Now he would have to pay the price.

Kamichi pretnded to slightly snore as Haku finished getting ready and then left the room. He thought that being a squad member was boring and he had thought that the leader had to do all of the dirty work, but this was going to be way harder than Kamichi thought. After he was sure that Haku left, he started to get ready himself, putting on the clothes that he had brought from his backpack.

After he was done getting ready, Kamichi looked at Haku's clock in his room. It was two minutes to dawn. He knew that Haku would come and get him around now. He decided to stay on Haku's good side and just go outside for training so Haku wouldn't have to waste time coming in to wake him up.

Kamichi rushed outside to see Haku and Zabuza, who were talking outside. They looked at him, suprised.

"Thought I'd have to drag you outta bed, kid," Zabuza said, laughing.

"Well, I'm here." Kamichi said, showing very false bravado. He remembered that he had to look suprised for whatever they were doing today. "Um, so, since we're not having a sparring match, what are we going to do?"

Haku just smirked. He knew. He knew that Kamichi had snuck into the conversation and had watched him train. _Oh, no! How'd he know that?! That's impossible! I didn't make the slightest amount of noise! _He thought in horror.

"You may be suprised, Kamichi, but you are going to have a sparring match today," Zabuza said.

"Oh! Okay, then..." Kamichi was still worried. Even though Haku knew what Kamichi did to eavesdrop, Haku still had no clue of Kamichi's state of mind.

"I'm gonna be watching from afar, observing your techniques. Haku, you can begin and stop it anytime you want to." Zabuza stepped back a bit as Kamichi and Haku faced each other.

"You ready?" Haku asked.

"Yep." Kamichi shivered as the sparring match begun, still thinking about those needles.

They stood in silence untill Haku said, "Your move."

Kamichi thought about it for a moment, then nodded, looking feirce. He made some super-simple hand signs that Haku instantly recognizede. "Water Gun Jutsu!" He yelled, as water began to fill his mouth.

This was a very primary move. No one ever used it in battle, since the attack was so weak. This move was only taught in ninja school, for pre-school beginners in their harmless sparing matches. All Hidden Mist ninja in this generation knew how to do it, but never used that attack. Most jonin, like Zabuza, actually forgot about starter-packaged jutsu like that.

"Hey! I can do that, too!" Haku laughed, clapping his hands together, starting to make hand signs.

_This CAN'T be good, _Kamichi thought as both of their Water Gun Jutsus were released from their mouths. This suprised Zabuza. He didn't know Haku or Kamichi could do that. The water guns clashed, but Haku's was way too strong for Kamichi, and it backfired. Luckily for Kamichi, he only basically got sprayed in the face, because the attack was only good for something like watering plants. He knew that Haku was just teasing with him, and Kamichi hated to be teased. He was quite angry now.

"Hey! You messed up my hair!" Kamichi complained in a whiny tone. Haku laughed. Kamichi drew out a super small kunai and shot it right in Haku's direction. Kamichi wanted Haku to be shocked that Kamichi would dare to try something that dangerous.

Haku suddenly whipped around and around, into a torando, and the kunai spun away and threw itself back in Kamichi's direction. Kamichi yelped and ducked to the ground as the kunai sailed overhead.

Kamichi rushed over and threw a pnch at Haku's chest. Haku dodged, tried to strike, but Kamichi already lost his balance and just fell, and Haku didn't have to wast an inch of energy on him as he clattered to the ground.

"Arrgh! Why do I have to be so clumsy all of the time?" Kamichi asked himself, annoyed. He jumped up and backed away, trying to regain his confidence once again.

"You know, that Kamichi kid is pretty lousy for someone who has such confidence," Zabuza mumbled, taking note on a paeice of paper and clipboard of Kamichi's newfound weakness, which was being too clumsy.

Kamichi charged again, this time, ready to kick Haku.

Haku swung his foot around and purposely matched the kick with his foot, with their feet now pushing against each others in mid air. Kamichi concentrated on nothing but putting more pressure on his foot to defeat Haku's kick, but that gave Haku his chance to strike Kamichi.

Haku swung his fist right at Kamichi, and Kamichi fell back the second it hit the side of his head. Poor Kamichi tumbled several times head-first into the ground. He sat up, grumbling. That hurt. But, he couldn't show Haku that the blow had hurt him. He made sure not to cry out or wince at all when he stood up and faced Haku again, who was almost out of regular energy. If Kamichi was that hard-headed and wouldn't give up too easily, Haku would have to resort to using chakra for extra force.

_Weakness: Kamichi is not creative or strong in his attacks. Needs more effective jutsu. _Zabuza jotted down quickly on the clipboard, and then went back to watching the two boys fight.

Kamichi took a deep breath. His legs turned to jelly as Haku's eyes suddenly changed from soft and harmless to murderous and made of pure icy fury. Kamichi backed up a step, not knowing what to do. Was this part of the 'Kekkei Genkai' thing that he had heard about? He had to use his other jutsu before this got too ugly.

"Earth Style: Boulder Explosion Jutsu!" Kamichi yelled, making a few quick hand signs. Zabuza looked suprised. Haku looked content and almost thrilled, even with the strange look in his eyes. Kamichi made a few violent hand gueatures, summoning the boiling, pointed rock from deep down in the planet's outer core. The pointed rock burst through the ground at Haku, exploding into lava.

Haku dodged them all, and backfired the lava to the ground by making himself into a kid-sized swirling tornado that was flying wildly through the air, as quick as lightning, repelling all of the rock attacks. Kamichi was shocked. He tried summoning more boiling, exploding rock from the ground, stretching his chakra to the limit by making the rocks bigger. It was draining way too fast, and Kamichi could feel himself getting weaker by the millisecond.

_Stength: Saves best jutsu for last and has mastered it. Weakness: Uses way too much chakra. _Zabuza wrote down in his jagged, sloppy handwriting that only he could read (he actually had to _teach_ Tarina how to read all of his letter styles and marks). Zabuza already know who would win this match by a long shot.

Suddenly, all of the rocks stopped moving through the ground. They all demolished into pebbles around the training yard, due to Kamichi's complete lack of chakra. Haku stopped using the swirling tornado and gently floated back on the ground, breathless. He had a few scratches on his cheeks. The tornado couldn't repel everything, after all. His clothes were pretty dirty, too, but he still had about half of his chakra left.

Kamichi stood there, stunned. Horrified. Haku was practically untouchable. Hardly anything could get through to Haku. Kamichi struggled to stand, and he had no chakra left, but he knew he had to keep going. Or should he? Haku looked worried as Kamichi just stood there.

"Hey, kid, here's some advice. Why don't you just fall over and give up? You have no chakra, and Haku does." Zabuza laughed. "Usually, I wouldn't warn my student about this, but I'm telling you now. You're really in for something if you don't fall over and accept defeat." He said.

"But...but...I don't wanna give up. I want to beat my sensei." Kamichi whispered. Neither Haku nor Zabuza could hear him, but Kamichi couldn't make up his mind whether to let his legs give out and fall onto the grass as an indication of defeat. But if he fell once again, he would be too weak to stand up again. This was his last chance.

"Just back down and you'll be all right. I get it now. You're strong, but you can't..." Zabuza called out for the last time. Kamichi shook his head and looked up at Haku, fully facing him now.

_Weakness: Doesn't know how to give up when in critical condition._

"You leave me no choice, then. This is how it has to be, huh? I have to knock you down myself, I guess." Haku said calmly, taking out the dreaded three senbon that Kamichi had dreamt about all last night. They gleamed with hostility.

_I'm gonna die! _Kamichi thought with horror, as he backed up a few steps. He was violently shaking with true fear of the weapons. Obviously, he didn't know what he term, "sparring match" really meant. He watched helplessly as Haku charged at him, senbon ready for the final strike. He couldn't even fall over now. His legs now felt like rock-hard, one hunded year old jelly. More like jelly made from cement.

Kamichi closed his eyes as Haku attacked. Kamichi cried out as he felt painful slashes going six times on his skin. Once on his cheek, twice on his arm, and the rest on his legs. When he was staggering backwards from shock and pain, he felt the final kick crash into his chest like a bulldozer as Kamichi went flying across the yard. He crumpled to the ground, badly hurt. His chest was heaving as he slowly opened his eyes. He suddenly realized that the sparring match was over.

Haku walked over to him, helping the shocked, dazed, and embarassed Kamichi stand up. "You okay?" Haku asked Kamichi.

"Ouch..." Kamichi moaned, as embarassed as can be for acting so weak. Haku almost laughed, but he just smiled as he helped him walk back to the hideout. He didn't want to make Kamichi cry by laughing, but even Kamichi knew that he should have seen it coming, and that he was dead wrong about Haku. Kamichi had gotten what he had deserved. Haku thought that Kamichi was lucky because Haku was so nice. He knew that if it were Zabuza facing Kamichi, Kamichi's attitude and confidence would be kicked right out of him in a heartbeat.

"Haku-sensei...does this mean...I'm never going to be a ninja?" Kamichi asked Haku as they followed Zabuza into the house and into the hideout's living room and finally sat down.

'Haku-sensei?' What was all of that about? Well, whatever it was, Haku knew that it meant a whole new level of respect from Kamichi.

Haku tried to looked guilty. "Hey, no, it's not a big deal that you lost to me. Remember, you're only training to become a genin. My required standards are different from yours. To be honest, you really weren't supossed to win. We were just testing out your ninja skils, that's all. And by the way, your last attack was definatley jonin level as far as we're concerned." Haku said as Zabuza nodded in agreement.

"Jonin level? Hey, but...if my attack was jonin level, and you're a chunin, then how come you were able to dodge it?" Kamichi sounded upset.

"Because Haku's not finished growing yet, either. He still has a long way to go before he can become a specialized jonin rouge ninja. I guess the sparring match improved both of your skills. Haku finally learned to dodge those type of attacks." Zabuza shrugged.

"But Kamichi, you really came close to beating me with the Boulder Explosion thing. You know, I have a similar attack to yours, only it's made out of ice, and it doesn't explode, and it doesn't really have a name to it. It actually pursues the target instead. But yours is pretty cool. That's why I don't want you putting yourself down just because of today, because I think that we would do great as a team on your first mission. If we put our two attacks together, our attacks could really turn into a huge, effective one." Haku said thoughtfully.

"Hmm..." Kamichi had never really considered the thought of working together with Haku. He thought that a sensei was supossed to be in severe competition with his trainee. But now that he thought about it, it sounded pretty cool. Kamichi knew that he had alot to learn. But, there was something he wanted to learn from Haku specifically...

"Well, I'm pretty tired. I'm gonna go visit the Kingpin Kunais to relax for a while. Kamichi, if you want to come along, that's fine." Haku said.

"You want to go with him?" Zabuza asked Kamichi. "'Cause I'm staying here."

To be honest, Kamichi didn't really feel like going anywhere at the moment. Kamichi actually felt like taking a nap right about now. "Uh, no thanks. I'm just gonna rest here until you get back." Kamichi said as Zabuza stood up and went away in his own room.

"Okay." Haku said and began to walk away.

"Uh, sensei? Wait a sec..." Kamichi asked Haku nervously. If he was going to ask Haku about this, it was either now or never.

"Hmm?" Haku turned around, intersted.

Kamichi suddenly felt shy. "Uh, maybe...when you get back...could you please teach me that cool move of yours where you used that spinning tornado thing?" He blurted.

Haku grinned at him. "Sure, I will! And I'll teach you a whole lot of other things, too."

"Yes!" Kamichi was glad that he could learn some of Haku's moves. "Oh, and uh, I'm sorry if I was mean or being obnoxious to you before. You know, making fin of your clothes and size and everything. I really didn't mean it."

"Don't worry about it." Haku smiled again, waved, and left.

Kamichi watched him go. It's not like he thought his new sensei was _that _cool...he just had cool moves. Kamichi did too, but he just wanted to learn more so he could become the best Hidden Mist rouge ninja ever. Kamichi knew that he couldn't kiss up to Haku, which would prove his weakness, so he couldn't lose his mischevious touch.

Haku was a pretty nice kid, and had some cool moves, Kamichi had to give him that...but the frizziness of Haku's unruly hair was a bit strange. Kamichi would just have to work on his style a bit and he'd be the coolest sensei ever.

But the important thing was, Kamichi had never believed in himself in becoming a strong squad leader. He thought that there was absolutley no hope for him, but with Haku as a teacher...

The darkness in Kamichi's past would finally be overshadowed by the great lights of his future.

_**Hurry! Go to The Next Chapter!**_

_**Don't worry, Kamichi's "dark past" will be revealed very shortly! I promise that I wont leave you hanging for long! I don't know when you're reading this, but if the next chapter isn't here, it will be right away in about one day! Please review this chapter before you go any further, because there are a bunch of chapters soon to come, including the Aftermath, which is what happens after Haku's death in the series. I have not decided whether I want to post it here on this story, or as a separate story. Also, I know that the fight was sort of short, (sorry about that), but I tried to make the ending cute.**_

_**ALSO, in your review, I would really prefer it if you tell me whether the Aftermath story should be a separate title. I'm leaning torwards just sticking it to this story, because some people who haven't read the whole series might get confused about Omari, Tarina, Slicer, Zamu, and Kamichi, thinking, "Who in the world are these people?!"**_

_**Now, we wouldn't want that, would we? ;) In short, the next chapters coming very soon, I really would like your opinin on the Aftermath, and please keep reading my series of Haku fanfics. Okay, well, I have alot more writing to do, so...see ya!**_

_**2Face's Number 1 Fan**_

_**P.S...HAKU ROCKS!**_


	8. Haku Takes Kamichi On A Mission

_**Chapter 8.**_

_**Five Days Later...**_

"So, when are we going?" Haku asked Slicer. Haku was now at the Kingpin Kunais' hideout, ready for his second mission with them. After all of these years doing independent missions and misions with Zabuza, he could finally go with his good friends again. This mission wasn't as dangerous as stealing the Scroll Of Storms, but it wasn't as pitiful as going to retrieve Gato's wristwatch, either. Finally, a regular mission. Zabuza and Kamichi were back resting at their own hideout, not too far off.

"We're going to hit the road in about five munutes now," Slicer replied, finishing packing a bagful of supplies and weapons.

Haku nodded and started to put his senbon in his backpack when someone tugged on his robe sleeve.

"Hey, Haku-sensei, can I come, too?" A young voice asked. Haku whipped around to see Kamichi standing right behind him, smiling pleadingly up at Haku.

"_Kamichi_, _why did you follow me here_?" Haku growled in a threatening tone.

"Because, it's not like you to just leave here without telling me, so I wanted to know what was going on. And now, here I am, begging to go on a grown-up mission with you." Kamichi replied smoothly.

"Kamichi, you can't come because this is a B-ranked mission, and you're not ready for something like that yet." Tarina said from the back of the room. "Your first mission is in two more days, and it sure isn't this one."

"C'mon, sensei, I'm your favorite student! Why can't you take me with you?" Kamichi whined to Haku.

"You're my _only_ student." Haku grumbled.

"Pleeeaaase?! You said that we would work well as a team, and today, I want to be on your team. What's so wrong about that?" Kamichi stamped his little foot on the ground.

"Nothing's wrong with it. It's just that this mission is way too dangerous, and I don't want to see you get hurt." Haku said.

"If it's so dangerous, then what do you have to do to complete the mission?" Kamichi crossed his arms.

"We're destroying a tracker's hideout while they're gone off on a mission, but there are lots of guard dogs at the hideout, and we'll be lucky to destroy everything in time before the trackers get back from their mission. If they see us, we'll have to fight them off. Chances are, we'll be caught and have to fight." Haku explained.

"I'm good at destroying stuff! Doesn't that mean I can go?" Kamichi whined, louder than the last time.

"No. You're good at destroying things by sheer recklessness, and what _we_ mean by "destroy" is to demolish it quickly, and quietly, and for a purpose." Zamu said dismissively.

"Sorry, Kamichi. You can't go this time, okay? I seriously don't want you to get hurt. Now, please go back to the hideout with Zabuza." Haku pointed at the door.

"Zabuza is sleeping, and he's too mean and rough to play with. Anyway, I've been your student for three whole days now! You've taught me to use the tornado attack, and I've taught myself to spin on my head while doing that attack! I'm ready!" Kamichi exclaimed.

Tarina, Slicer, and Zamu slapped their hands over their mouths, trying to stop themselves from cracking up. Omari and Haku were just plain irritated.

"Kamichi, just because you've learned to breakdance, doesn't mean you can go. You're really not ready." Haku sighed as Tarina burst out giggling.

"It's not dancing! Learning to do a tornado attack on your head is cool!" Kamichi cried. "And anyway, if you can bring your _girlfriend_ to fight off trackers with you, then why can't you bring me, too?!" He accused, pointing at Omari, who turned bright red.

Haku had heard enough. "Uuugh! Fine. Come with us, but I'm not going to baby-sit you the whole time, got it?" Haku grumbled, finally giving in.

"Yaaaay! Thank you, sensei!" Kamichi cried, pumping his fists in the air.

"Yeah, whatever. And when the trackers find us because of your loudness, I want to see your breakdancing save us all." Haku said grumpily as Kamichi nodded eagerly, ready to go. 

__

"I'm tired," Kamichi complained, not even five minutes down the trail to the tracker's hideout that Gato ordered them to destroy.

"Too bad." Haku said. "It's not like we begged you to come with us. Actually, we didn't even want you with us. You should have just stayed back in the hideout with Zabuza."

"Well, too bad for you, because Zabuza's gonna kill you when he finds out that you took me out of the hideout without asking, while I'm not gonna get in trouble at all!" Kamichi sneered triumphantly.

"He could care less about what happens to you. He shouldn't care, because it's not his job. Besides, I'm your sensei, and I'm the one who has to protect you with my life, because I care, which is why you shouldn't have came on this mission." Haku said. "Now, your whole life is at risk because you wanted to tag along. That's why I didn't want to tell you that I was leaving."

"Hey! You just watch! I'll be the best teammate you ever have worked with! Even better than your girlfriend!" Kamichi exclaimed.

Tarina cackled gleefully, and Omari and Haku groaned.

"How many times have I told you that Omari and I are _not-_" Haku began to grumble.

Kamichi and Tarina just burst out laughing again. Omari and Haku shook their heads and decided to let it go.

After an hour more of walking, they finally arrived to their destination. A hideout the shape of a small, wooden hut with a red flag standing tall stood before them. Haku reached into his backpack and took out his tracker's mask, and strapped it on his face as they stood before the hut.

"Wow, what kind of mask is that?! That's so cool, sensei! I want one!" Kamichi shrieked in his annoying, obnoxious little voice.

Haku hushed him. "Lower your voice. There might be guard dogs around here. We don't know what might pop out of these woods."

"Okay, Haku-sensei." Kamichi sighed. "But, still, can I have one!?" He whispered in an excited voice.

"I got this when we were captured by trackers. I'm using it now as a disguise. But I only have one of them. Sorry. Now, what we have to do first is-" Haku said.

"It's no fair! You get a cool mask to put on all of the time, and your lucky golden kunai. And Tarina, Slicer, Zamu, and your girlfriend all get cool bandannas with cool kunai pictures on them. And I keep seeing your girlfriend with that neat icicle kunai of hers. And Zabuza has his awesome sword. What do I get? I'm a rogue ninja, too, you know!!" Kamichi interrupted.

"Would you kindly refer to me as 'Omari'? Because I'm really getting tired of that girlfriend stuff," Omari harumphed. "Haku and I might have a...slight relationship, but I _do _have a name, you know." Omari hissed at Kamichi before Haku could say anything.

"Whatever, lady." Kamichi tossed off. "Now, about that mask..."

"'_Lady?!' _Well, I never-" Omari started.

"Everyone shut up!" Tarina hissed, covering Kamichi's mouth with one hand. "We're not here to argue about Omari's undying love for Haku. We're here on a mission!"

"Right!" Slicer nodded, who, along with Zamu, looked as confused as ever.

"Well, it was Haku's _wife _who started it," Kamichi broke free of Tarina's grip and pointed at Omari.

Omari and Haku both blushed and gaped in shock at the very idea as Kamichi smiled triumphantly for winning an argument with one of the bigger kids. Everything was finally quiet.

"Okay, back to business here. We have to sneak into the house first, and destroy the inside-" Tarina began.

"Why not just burn the outside and then wait till the fire burns up the rest of the inside of the house?" Kamichi argued.

"Shush. It's not going to work because we need to destroy all of the personal content and scrolls inside of that building, got it?" Tarina asked the group.

Everyone nodded, and before they could all sneak away to enter the house, Haku whispered, "Okay, Kamichi, stay close to me, alright?"

Kamichi's face turned red in disgust and anger. "Just because you're twelve years old and I just turned eight years old doesn't mean that you can push me around like that! I can go to the house all by myself without you having to hold my, hand, okay?" He growled. Haku just sighed and continued to sneak torwards the house.

Haku was quickly tiptoeing to the tracker's hideout, while the Kingpin Kunais were using their Shadow Blend Jutsu, morphing into the wall as shadows, while Kamichi began clumsily stepping loudly through the mixture of snow and leaves and grass torwards the house.

"Kamichi! Quiet down, right now!" Haku hissed, as alarmed as could be.

"No, I'm fine- ahhhhhh!" Kamichi screamed as a huge tracker's guard dog leaped out of a bush, and tackled Kamichi and pinned his small body to the ground. Haku never saw Kamichi look so petrified. His eyes were as big as golf balls, his mouth was sealed shut and he was shaking all over.

The huge, snarling, drooling brown dog was ready to attack, loving the smell of young, fresh blood. It was actually two times bigger than Kamichi himself. Haku cried out, Tarina and Omari gasped in shock and horror, and Slicer and Zamu's eyes widened in suprise.

"Haku-sensei! Help me! Pleeeaase! Heeelllpp!" Kamichi started to screech and squirm. This angered the dog, so he raised his clawed paw, ready to slash. Kamichi quivered in fear.

The slash was way more painful than anything Kamichi had ever experienced. His eyes blurred as the slash of the sharp, brown claw of the giant warrior dog came down right on his face. Kamichi was sobbing, pleading, begging as tears and the blood from the scratches on his cheeks filled his eyes.

"Heeeey!!!" Haku shrieked as loudly as he could. "Nobody ever, _ever, _messes with any student of mine! You'll pay for that!" He started to charge, but a dark form loomed before him and shoved him down.

"Well, well, well..." The dark form said to them as Haku angrily got up, ready to fight. "Look who we have here. On my day off of the job, I stumble upon a couple of twerpy rogue ninja." The dark form had turned out to be the tracker and his three squad members.

"Hey! Tell your stupid dog to let go of Kamichi!" Tarina yelled at the lead tracker.

"Tell me, what were you doing here at my humble home in the first place, hmm?" The smooth-talking lead tracker smiled slyly at Tarina.

_"She SAID, let Kamichi go!" _Haku was now enraged.

"Tell me what you were doing here, or else I'll have ol' Cruncher here take your friend apart." The tracker said again.

Haku surged forward again, but the tracker struck him in the face, making him fall to the ground once more.

"What are you trying to do? I thought that you wanted your little friend over there to stay safe. Now, _tell_ me what you were doing here, right this instant." The tracker growled. Now, they were all stuck. If they moved or tried to attack, the dog would kill Kamichi in a heartbeat.

Haku cringed as the giant dog was hungrily and savagely licking Kamichi's newly wounded and bleeding cheeks. Not a wound lick, but a bloodthirsty, excited lick. Kamichi was whimpering softly as the guard dog stood on him, drooling and licking all over him. It made Haku's insides turn. What kind of sick ninja would train their dogs to like tearing and eating people?

"We were ordered to destroy your hideout." Omari said sheepishly, willing to do anything so she wouldn't see little Kamichi get hurt.

"Oh, really?" The tracker grinned. "Well, you've been barking up the wrong tree. You know what trackers do to crooks like you?"

"They want to kill us," Tarina said grimly. "But we weren't out to hurt you, so why don't you just let Kamichi go? It's not like we were going to kill anyone."

"No, but you were out to find and destroy the secrets of our clan, and we don't want people like you around, do we? Tracker ninja do not ever show mercy to any enemy at all." The tracker said. Then, he made a poise to snap his fingers as a sort of a signal to the dog. "So, any last words to your friend Kamichi?"

Haku was shaking, not knowing what to do. As soon as the dog would get rid of Kamichi, then the tracker and his squad would come and kill the rest of them.

Everything was silent as Tarina and Haku were staring in horror at the tracker, then at the guard dog and Kamichi, not knowing what to say or do. The tracker was happy that the Kingpin Kunais, Haku, and Kamichi were about to suffer. He was just about to let the dog have Kamichi when-

"Summoning Jutsu!" Omari suddenly screamed, whipping out a small black scroll from her pack, putting it in her mouth, making some complicated hand signs. This startled everyone, including the tracker.

"Wha...? You idiot! Now is not the time! That wont work!" Tarina screeched. But to everyone's suprise, the summoning did work.

Omari slammed the scroll on the ground after she finished making the hand signs. The scroll glowed a bright blue, and suddenly, it exploded into light. Everyone stared in silence at the scroll, wondering what would come next. The tracker was too stunned by this outburst to even make a move. So was the dog. The dog sniffed the air

The burst of light weakened, and finally stopped to reveal a small, white furry rabbit. Haku remembered when he used to have one, but he never actually summoned his pet bunny rabbit when he facing death. What was this for?

The baby rabbit stood defensively in front of all five of them, making small, growling sounds in his throat menacingly. Kamichi and Haku's mouths were gaped open in shock. Tarina, Slicer, and Zamu looked desparatley worried.

"Omari, have you lost your mind?!" Zamu cried. This isn't the time to use Nibbles as an assistant today!"

"'Nibbles?' Now, isn't that precious?" The tracker snorted. "I know what that rabbit is, you don't need to explain it to me. I've seen all of the rogue ninja's tricks before. I guess Cruncher's gonna have to wait, because if it's a battle you guys want, it's a battle you'll get."

_WHAT is Omari doing?! We didn't ask for a battle! If we lose or end up surrendering, these guys will take us down anyway, and that dog's gonna make stew out of Kamichi! And what's with the rabbit? _Haku was thinking wildly, eyes darting from left to right.

The three other tracker men stepped up and each propped a hand on their hips, not believing that Haku and the others could beat four experienced, armed tracker men.

Slicer instantly darted as fast as his legs could carry him torwards Kamichi and the gigantic guard dog, who was still on top of Kamichi. One of the trackers immidiatley made a beeline for Slicer. Slicer knocked him out of the way, and slashed at the huge dog with his sword as a threat, yet not hitting him. The dog cowered in fear and ran to it's master, leaving Kamichi in the dust.

Kamichi jumped up, dusted himself off and ran behind Haku and Tarina, frightened for his life. Haku growled, "You know, you're not gonna last for long just by hiding behind me like a baby. You gotta fight at some point." He said.

"Oooohhh..." Kamichi shivered, staring at the dog, who was snarling menacingly in his direction. The rabbit snarled back in a deep, strange tone, meaner than the last time, which confused Kamichi. He knew that rabbits could growl, but just not like that. Omari was ready to fight as Slicer regained his position and the tracker he had knocked over recovered from the fall and rejoined his squad members.

The three squad members all tried to slash at Tarina with a kunai, but she dodged and tried to hit them back. The battle had begun. Zamu and Slicer rushed off to help Tarina.

Omari glanced at Haku, who looked worried and doubtful. _Don't worry, Haku. We'll manage to get out of this, just like last time! And with Nibbles to help me, we'll be unstoppable! _She thought.

The lead tracker ninja grinned evilly at them. "Well, well. Looks like I have to deal with the three little ones, don't I?" He grinned. Then he snapped his fingers at the dog as an order to kill. "Get him." He pointed at Kamichi, who was the weakest of the bunch. The tracker knew that you always had to kill off the weak, distracting ones first.

The dog lauched into action, as Kamichi screamed snd started to run. Cruncher chased after him, and when he was about to catch up to Kamichi and bite his leg, he howled as he felt a sharp pain on his tail. He stopped. The guard dog whipped around in fury to see Nibbles, Omari's trained rabbit, hanigng onto Crusher's tail with it's oversized teeth.

Crusher lunged forward at the rabbit, forgetting about Kamichi completley. The rabbit yelped and with amazing speed, leaped out of the way. Crusher screamed in annoyance and then lunged agin in mid air, catching the rabbit's left leg in it's mouth. The rabbit shrieked in pain, writhing and squirming to get away.

Kamichi just stood there, without words, wondering if the rabbit was going to be eaten. But, to Crusher and Kamichi's suprise, Nibbles started to glow in an eerie green light, recharging itself. One second later, with a burst of speed, the rabbit crashed through the grip of the dog's razor sharp teeth, and the Crusher fell in a heap on the ground, completley knocked out.

_What kind of power does that bunny have? _Kamichi wondered as the rabbit, still glowing, sniffed and returned to Omari's side. Kamichi wasn't sure where to help out. Should he go and help Haku and Omari fight off the mean leader that set the dog on him, or should he help Tarina, Slicer, and Zamu fight off the other trackers?

Kamichi looked over at Tarina and the other adults, and saw that they were doing okay. He rushed over to Haku's side, who was getting ready for battle, quickly and silently thinking about his first move.

Before Kamichi could offer some help, the tracker suddenly released a Pheonix Fire Jutsu, a common yet deadly move used among professional trackers and members of certain clans. The bursts of ultra-heated flames blasted out at Haku, Omari, and Kamichi.

Omari cried out and ducked to the ground next to her rabbit. Haku jumped out of the way just in time, but Kamichi was too shocked and scared to move.

The rabbit quickly moved to defend Kamichi, jumped in fromt of Kamichi and took the blow himself, abosrbing the flames. The green glow suddenly turned a deep red and then blue flames came racing out of the rabbit's mouth as a counterattack. The lead tracker cried out, and just barely made it out of the flame. It had scorched part of the tracker's clothing.

Kamichi was still shocked and stunned.

"Good boy, Nibbles." Omari praised to the rabbit. Haku looked back at Omari's summoned pal in wonder. Nibbles looked much bigger than before, and his fur was beginning to turn greener, spikier, and it's teeth were bared at the enemy.

"Didn't see that coming. Not bad." The lead tracker grinned, clapping his hands and nodding in approval. This made the rabbit even more mad and look even more mutated than before. "But you're gonna need alot more than that to beat me!"

The tracker suddenly struck out with a kunai and ran at Kamichi, his arm raised. Kamichi's brain managed to function this time and he used the tornado wind attack that Haku had taught him (while on his head) to blow the kunai out of his hands, and as a bonus, kick the tracker in the face.

The tracker wiped his bloody nose and roared, "You little brat! You think that you're actually a match for me? I'll show you!" He suddenly struck out and grabbed Kamichi's foot and lifted him in the air and raised another kunai.

Haku and Omari shot the icicle and the golden kunai at the tracker as a panic attack. Their last minute aim was terrible, but somehow, the two kunais went in the exact direction they were supossed to and stabbed at the tracker's hand that was gripping Kamichi. The tracker shrieked in horror and dropped Kamichi to the ground, right on his head.

The tracker was outnumbered and he knew it, so it was time. He jumped back to his starting spot, apart form his three young opponents. He whipped out a huge boomerang-like shuriken that secretly held one-hundred mini-shuriken that were kept inside. There wasn't another shuriken quite like this one. It had killed many and had fooled all that fell upon it.

With a small smirk, he hurled the giant shuriken in Haku's direction, not intending for it to hit him, but to smash against the tree behind him and release all of the little shuriken and kill all three of them.

But somehow, someway...the larger shuriken actually hit Haku right in the stomach. The tracker, Omari, Kamichi, and the rabbit were all stunned. It was a perfect slice. The tracker didn't understand why Haku hadn't just moved out of the way. And the worst part was, was that now the smaller shuriken wouldn't be released because the giant shuriken had struck Haku so hard, that it was way to deep in Haku's skin to release anything out into the air.

Omari gasped in horror, waiting for the blood to spurt from Haku's gut and for him to fall over and die a painful and sorrowful death, waiting for her tears to come, but nothing happened.

Water suddenly spurted out from Haku's entire body, creating cartoonish-like holes that made Haku look like human cheese. After a few seconds, Haku's body exploded into a puddle of water, only leaving a hundred soaked tiny shuriken and one huge, razor sharp one. It could only mean one thing.

Haku had created a Water Clone at the speed of light, right before the shuriken was about to hit him, making all of the tiny shuriken to dig deep into the clone, fooling the tracker, and saving everyone's life. If Haku had just jumped out of the way, the giant shuriken would have bounced back like a normal boomerang and then release the deadly mini-shuriken.

But only Omari and her rabbit were intelligent enough to see what Haku had done. A second later after the Water Clone disappeared, a super-hard kick came crashing into the back of the tracker's head, splashing muddy water all over him as well. The tracker fell flat on his face, moaning and groaning as Haku stood smiling before him.

"You seriously thought that your giant shuriken was gonna hit me? Puh-lease!" Haku laughed as Omari sighed in relief and happiness, and little Kamichi stood, staring in awe and shock at Haku.

The tracker sat up, glaring at the three children and the monster rabbit. "You really want to mess with me, huh? Well..." He chuckled. "I'm quite impressed. But, that sure doesn't stop me and my team from getting rid of you brats!"

The tracker suddenly ran off as quick as lightning, and then started to zoom all around them in a huge circle, forming a torando that made Omari and Kamichi's delicate bodies slowly spin around in circles, making both of them dizzy. A giant tornado.

Haku dug his feet into the ground as far as possible to keep from spinning, and Nibbles just stood his ground and closely observed all of the trackers' moves, as if he were about to spring and attack the tornado.

Suddenly, the tornado shot out kunai and shuriken from all directions, at least three hundred of them at Haku, Omari, Kamichi, and Nibbles.

_How big are this guy's pockets?_ Haku thought wildly, watching as the dreaded shuriken and kunai came racing torwards them. Haku stood close to his teammates and pulled out his golden kunai. He smacked some away form himself and his friends, but suddenly, one shuriken came from behind and struck his back. Haku cried out and slapped his hand to his back and then fell.

After Haku fell, some shuriken struck Omari and Kamichi, too, causing them great pain.

"Oh, nooo!" Omari screamed as more and more spinning shuriken and speeding kunais were racing torwards them, either hitting them or bouncing off. There was no escape now from the tornado. Haku knew that the crystal ice mirrors wouldn't work at this time, either. Haku felt warm blood streaming down his back as a kunai hit. Haku's face and head was down and protected, but that didn't stop the kunai from hitting other vital organs. Haku was about to close his eyes and expect the worse when-

Haku lifted his head as he heard a loud explosion and then some low humming as the full-grown, fully-mutated rabbit released a red sheild from it's body, a huge protective dome hovering over their bodies inside of the racing tornado. Then, Omari's rabbit looked and nodded at Haku with it's peircing, red eyes.

Haku felt almost threatened. He looked around the noisy, bedroom-sized dome that protected everyone and saw Omari and Kamichi looking at him pleadingly.

"This sheild wont hold for long! Nibble's sheild will self-destruct soon, and we'll all be temporarily paralyzed and helpless! I've tried it!" Omari screamed. "My Kekkei Genkai wont help here, and Kamichi can't do much right now. Have anything in mind?"

"I, uh..." Haku looked back again at the furious-looking rabbit, and the sheild which was now growing smaller. The rabbit stared at him, almost pleading him with that look in his eyes.

Haku stared right into Nibble's eyes, and that furious, demanding look in the rabbit's eyes peirced Haku like needles...

Needles...

"That's it!" Haku whispered, as an idea clicked into his brain. He started to make a few hand signs. "Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles of Death!" He stamped his foot on the ground as hard as he could, hoping that the plan would work. The needles would hit in all directions outside of the sheild and would count as an automatic, deadly defeat for the tracker.

Just outside of the sheild, thousands of razor sharp needles came rising up from the ground, and hit the tracker's giant, swirling human tornado and the sheild. Omari, Nibbles, Haku, and Kamichi all covered their ears as the needles started to overpower both the tornado and the sheild. Haku focused his chakra and tried to make the needles multiply and go faster, and could feel it draining, which was a sign that the counterattack was working.

Five seconds later, the sheild exploded and shattered at the same time, with the metal needles tinkering on the ground like tiny bells clanging together. Nibbles struggled to keep the sheild's destruction under control and not too rough to harm his teammates.

It ended. The fight was over as the tornado's winds stopped, the sheild was gone, and Haku and Omari's rabbit stood there, breathing heavily. They saw the tracker on the ground, gasping for air, looking like a porcupine, only with not as many needles. He was going to survive, but for now, his fighting days were over.

"Thanks, Nibbles. You really saved us all." Haku smiled at the rabbit, but then Haku's eyes widened in confusion. The rabbit was absolutley normal again, not mutated and green and powerful, as fluffy and as cute as ever, sniffing the air, looking as clueless as could be. Unreal. Haku stood there after that, staring, without words. It was as if it was all in their heads.

"Thanks, buddy." Omari smiled as the fluffy, normal pet bunny suddenly blipped out from sight in a small puff of smoke.

Haku smiled, relieved that the fight was over. He was just about to hug Omari when he realized that he hadn't seen what happened to Tarina, Slicer, and Zamu. He whipped around and saw them standing regularly, with their opponents lying passed out, tied to a tree and the hideout burned and destroyed.

As the three children stood, bewildered and shaken, Tarina just shook her head and smiled. "You guys are such slowpokes. We had to wait and watch untill you finally finished your tracker guy off. You missed all of the fun." She grinned as Slicer and Zamu started to laugh.

"Y-you guys beat up the bad guys, and destroyed their house while all three of us took all of this time to beat the leader?" Kamichi stammered.

"I don't know about Haku and Omari and Kamichi, because you guys are the youngest, but us three _are _considered the bad guys." Slicer laughed back. "We finish the job quickly."

"What about me, you guys?" Kamichi asked them all eagerly. "I defended myself when I had to. Didn't I do good?"

"Hmm..." Haku pretended to think about it. "No. That little dog almost tore you apart, and you endangered us all. Sure, you protected yourself, but if you weren't so clumsy, we probably wouldn't have ended up here in the first place."

"Oh..." Poor Kamichi bit his lip and sighed while focusing his eyes on the ground. Omari found it a little harsh, but what could you do? Maybe Haku thought that Kamichi wasn't ready to become a genin, even though Omari strongly disagreed...

Haku suddenly laughed and patted his back. "Just kidding, Kamichi. You did great for your first time traveling."

"I did?! Thanks, sensei!" Kamichi blushed, thrilled that it was just a joke. "Do I still have to go on that delivery mission tomorrow?"

"No," Haku said. "You don't have to go on that delivery mission anymore. That mission's too easy for you. I sort of underestimated you, I guess, after training you for almost a week. I saw that tornado spin kick of yours, and it's really improved. I think you're ready to become a squad member, and one day, when you get older, I bet you'll be good enough to become a real squad leader."

"Really?! Does that mean I can be a ninja and wear a cool keadband and have weapons of my own?!" Kamichi cried as they started their long walk home.

"In my opinion, I think you're ready. But, the final decision will be made tomorrow." Haku said.

"Oh." Kamichi said and nodded in agreement, still excited that Haku thought he was ready to become a ninja. Then he turned to Omari. "Hey, your bunny was pretty cool back there. How did he do all of those attacks and the sheild and stuff?"

"Well, I had to teach him to use the sheild." Omari said. "And, Nibbles was specially born and pre-trained to do all of that mutant stuff. I'm really not sure. The only thing I'm sure of is that I recieved the scroll when I was nine and took it from there."

"Just wondering..." Kamichi said. "If you're the one who taught Nibbles to use that awesome sheild thing, then you must know how to do it, right?"

"Well, I did at one time. When you teach special animals like Nibbles jutsu, you can't verbally teach them. You have to sacrafice a jutsu to teach it to your pet. In exchange of giving up the knowledge, your summoned animal can do it in a time of need at two times the regular strength." Omari explained.

Kamichi scratched his head, a bit confused.

"Don't worry, you'll understand when you get a bit older." Haku laughed. "You shouldn't worry now, because I know what a great ninja you'll become someday. You've actually grown a bit."

Kamichi couldn't help giggling. A strange sensation tingled through his body, a mixture of joy, friendship and a feeling that made him feel good for accomplishing something that other people liked. It was almost like he was experiencing it for the first time. What was it?

It was...so real and happy...

It was the true sense of pride.


	9. Kamichi Becomes a Hidden Mist Ninja

_**Chapter 9**_

Kamichi leaped out of bed and took a quick glance at the alarm clock next to him in Haku's room. It was 4:59 AM. Not _too_ early. He didn't care if it agitated Haku. He wanted that headband. He literally jumped right onto Haku's sleeping form, which was under the covers.

"Haku-sensei, wake up! Wake up!" He screeched, jumping on top of Haku about a dozen times.

"What?! Is there an intruder?!" Haku leaped out of bed, looking around frantically. When he looked down at Kamichi's smiling, innocent face, he moaned. "What's the matter with you? You scared me half to death!"

"Nothing's wrong, sensei. I was just so anxious to become a ninja today, that's all. I thought I'd get a head start."

"You should be exausted from yesterday! Why are you up so early?" Haku sighed, scratching his head of frizzy black hair.

Kamichi pretended to look offended. "Because today is the last day before I get a real squad, and I wanted to get up early so we could spend our last day together." He half lied. He wanted to be up early, and was sad that it was the last day with Haku, but he was more anxious of getting a headband than spending it with his sensei.

Even though Haku's eyes could easily see through an opponent's deception, his kind heart couldn't see through Kamichi's sad eyes. "Oh." Haku looked guilty. "I guess you're right. Sorry about that. I should have known."

Kamichi couldn't help giggling cruelly at how he had just fooled Haku. Haku suddenly got the message that he had been lied to, and got an agitated look on his face. "Kamichi...!" He growled, his eyes glowing with hostility.

"Uh-oh!" Kamichi quickly ran out of the room, knowing that he had messed with Haku at the wrong time of the day.

Haku was too tired to chase after Kamichi. He flopped down on the bed, face first, and drifted off back to sleep. The battle that he had yesterday had used up way too much chakra.

One hour and one minute later, Haku's alarm finally rang. Kamichi rushed back into the room, not having to tackle Haku this time. The alarm would do it's job. Kamichi turned it up to maximum volume.

As soon as the alarm rang the third and loudest time, Haku popped open his eyes and saw Kamichi's face right next to his at the side of the bed. "Ahh!" He screamed, frightened by the alarm. "What do you want from me!?"

"I'd like to become a ninja, please." Kamichi smiled pleasantly.

"Ohh..." Haku started to growl, as irritated as the day he had met Kamichi. He knew that the kid was anxious, but Haku needed his sleep.

Kamichi took a nervous step back when he saw the steamed look on Haku's face, but Haku sighed and decided to let it go. After all, when Zabuza had told Haku he was going to be a ninja, Haku had bounced off the walls all night long.

"Okay, Kamichi. Just give me a while to get ready for the day, and then we'll get you your headband, alright?" Haku said.

"How long will it take?"

"Just a few minutes, Kamichi, don't worry." Haku said.

"Nuh-uh!" Kamichi whined. "It'll take you forever! I know it! Because you have to dress in your robe, your pants, and put your hair in that yellow skullcap thing, and put your bangs in the silver hairties! That takes you forever!"

"No, it doesn't. You're just impatient. So, what, do you want me to make you into a ninja in my pajamas?" Haku asked.

"I wouldn't mind," Kamichi said cheerfully.

"Ugh. Just wait in the living room for a while, okay?" Haku slapped his hand to his head and guestured Kamichi into the living room of the hideout. He shut the door to get dressed and Kamichi pouted the entire time, glaring at the comics from the newspaper while waiting.

Haku came out of his room and sat next to Kamichi on the couch. "So, you're excited, huh?" He asked in a friendly, 'let's-have-a-little-chat' tone, which slightly unnerved Kamichi.

"Uh-huh." Kamichi nodded. "I wanna become the best Hidden Mist rogue ninja ever!"

Kamichi looked at Haku, who suddenly had something strange in his eyes. It was almost as if Haku wanted to know something else about Kamichi. Like there was a secret to tell. It made Kamichi feel unomfortable and comfortable at the same time. Having Haku around was like having a friend around, and yet that friend was still your competition.

It was just the two of them in the room, while Zabuza was snoozing away in the other room. Zabuza wanted to take a day off, so he had simply turned off his alarm clock. Kamichi could now tell what Haku wanted to talk about. Haku wanted to know about Kamichi. His old self.

"Uh, Haku?" Kamichi asked nervously, twiddling his thumbs.

"Hmm?"

"Before I get my headband and my squad and all, I have to tell you something, but you have to keep it a secret from other ninja. I mean, it would be okay if you told your girlfriend or something, but nobody else, okay?" Kamichi whispered, just loud enough so Haku could hear, in case anyone was spying on them.

"Your secret's safe with me." Haku assured him.

Kamichi took a deep breath. "Well, you see, I don't really know if I qualify for a Hidden _Mist _ninja. I mean, I'm not exactly from the Hidden Mist. I really don't know what type of ninja I am considered. I was going to tell you and Zabuza at first, but I thought that you would hat me for my difference and possibly try to hurt me like other people have."

Haku's eyes widened. "Who tried to hurt you?" He asked in a hushed whisper.

"Well, um..." Kamichi sighed. "I was born in the Hidden Rock Village, but I was raised in the Hidden Sound Village, and then I moved here to the Hidden Mist Village at five years old."

"I don't understand..." Haku was confused. "How did that happen? Who tried to hurt you?"

"Well, when I was born, I was taken from my mom and whisked away at the Hidden Sound Village during a huge war between the Hidden Rock and Hidden Sound Village. The Hidden Rock Village won by a mile and nearly destroyed everything. I was delivered to them as a gift of gratitude to the Hidden Sound for giving up the war." Kamichi said.

"But, why would the Hidden Rock Village give a newborn baby away as a gift for giving up a war? That doesn't seem too nice." Haku said.

"I dunno. It was said to be some stupid tradition, and I happened to be the baby who was taken away and given to the Hidden Sound Village. The Hidden Sound villagers saw me as the curse and the reason of misery for their village, and treated me like dirt for five years straight. Even as a baby, I was a prisoner. They used my jutsu for physical labor, and it was just plain horrible."

"Oh!" Haku gasped.

"I tried running away about three times, but I was harshly punished whenever I tried to run, or when I didn't listen to them. I wasn't treated like the other Hidden Sound children. I was treated much, much worse. I was a slave. The only good thing was, I was allowed to train ocasionally with the soldiers at a military camp. I couldn't keep up well, but I did learn a few things there." Kamichi said.

"Wow..." Haku whispered. So that was why Kamichi was such an attention-seeking brat sometimes.

"When I finally managed to run away to this shinobi village, after a few years, I met Gato and his troop. They said that they'd find someone who could train me to become a real ninja in a short period of time, and, in addition, I'd have a ninja squad to work with. All of that, in exchange for working for Gato. That's how I met you, Haku-sensei." Kamichi explained.

"Wow. I'm sorry that all of those things happened to you. You...you've been through alot during your life, haven't you?" Haku said softly. "Kind of like me. Only, things were alot gorier. I mean, you didn't have to deal with blood like I did." He said. He didn't want to go into too much detail. Kamichi was just a bit too young to understand.

"Did it have to do with your special powers?" Kamichi asked curiously.

That was a pretty fair question. "I- yes. It did, and I made a huge mistake them when I found out. I played with those powers when I shouldn't have, and my natural juvinile ignorance backfired, and there was lots of trouble." Haku said. Kamichi nodded in response.

"But...now there's a problem. I don't know what kind of ninja I am. My birthplace and the place where I was raised bring back unpleasant memories, and yet I don't feel like I belong here. I don't know where I belong at all." Kamichi said softly.

"Where do you feel your home is in your heart? Which village is most precious to you, the village that you would prefer the most?" Haku asked, trying to help Kamichi think long and hard about it.

"I...don't know. I'm just nothing." Kamichi shook his head, starting to cry. "I don't belong anywhere. I don't have a village."

"No, don't ever think that. I used to think like you. I used to think that I was nothing, useless, without a reason for living. But, I later found that purpose. I found it in Zabuza, and all of my friends. I live to protect them." Haku said.

Kamichi sniffled and looked up at Haku.

Haku patted him on the back. "Only you know what kind of ninja you are. Neither Zabuza, Tarina, Omari, Slicer, Zamu, or me can determine that. You are the one who has to declare what type of ninja that you are. It's all up to you."

Kamichi sniffled again, and thought, long and hard about where he belonged. In the Hidden Rock Village, nobody cared for him. How could they care if they were the ones who handed him over to the Hidden Sound Village in exchange for giving up the war? The Hidden Sound villagers all hated him for being an outsider...

That left the Hidden Mist Village. He knew that Omari, Slicer, Tarina, Zamu, Zabuza, and Haku were the only ones who didn't turn away from him. They were the ones who had trained him. They were the ones who finally let Kamichi go on that mission. _They _were the ones who cared.

"Haku..." Kamichi began.

Haku waited for Kamichi's answer.

"...I'm a Hidden Mist ninja." He said with finality.

Haku smiled at Kamichi and gave him a small hug, proud that Kamichi had true confidence of where he belonged. "From this day forward, you definatley are a Hidden Mist ninja." He said, taking out a beautiful, silver, brand-new Hidden Mist headband and putting it around Kamichi's forehead.

Kamichi reached up and touched the smooth, cool headband that was around his forehead and felt the engraved symbol of the Hidden Mist. Finally, he was a true ninja.

_This kid's really something. _Haku said. _I know that he'll become a successful ninja, probably one of the most powerful ones yet. The ones with true confidence always suceed._

Out of pure joy, Kamichi hugged Haku as tightly as he possibly could. "Thank you, Haku-sensei..." He whispered. He suddenly felt changed. He was changed because he knew that he had people who truly cared about him. He had found someone to talk to. Even though he would be in a silght competition with Haku and Zabuza and the Kingpin Kunais for a while, to see who could beat who in doing the most missions, Haku was a true friend.


	10. Aftermath: 1: Omari's Everlasting Sorrow

_**The Aftermath: Part 1: Omari's Everlasting Sorrow.**_

_**Three Years Later...**_

Omari was deathly afraid that Haku was hurt, or worse.

He had gone on an everyday gory mission with Zabuza, to kill off some bridge builder named Tazuna and scare away the bridge builder's guards. Simple. For all of them, missions like that were common, simple, now that Haku was fifteen, like she was. When she had heard Haku and Zabuza hadn't come back from the mission, she was shocked and terrified.

Could it have to do with the rookies that were guarding Tazuna? After all, the famous Hidden Leaf shinobi, Kakashi Hatake was there with the rookies...

_No. It can't happen. Haku's fine, and even if he had a slight injury, it would be okay, right? Everthing will be okay... _Omari thought in her mind, even though the visualization of her beloved getting hurt made her insides turn. Haku and Zabuza were missing for two whole days now. The mission should have been over. And neither Zabuza nor Haku could have been arrested or anything, since Gato practically owned the Land Of Waves.

Over the eight years of knowing each other and becoming great friends, Omari and Haku had done everything together. They had gone on more death-defying, yet thrilling missions, built snow forts, went to the mall, trained together, and had become a jonin on the exact same day. Omari had adored Haku for the kind, sweet young man that she knew him as and had the urge to tell him that she truly loved him, but she could never bring herself to it. When Haku came back from the mission at the Land Of Waves, she would tell him her feelings this time. No doubt about it.

_**Meanwhile...**_

Tarina sat in her bedroom, twiddling her thumbs, nervous. Her best friends were missing, and the status report of Haku and Zabuza would be in very, very soon. She hoped that they weren't hurt. Especially Zabuza.

Zabuza was the one that she had spent hours training with when they were just little kids, along with Slicer and Zamu. He was the one that she trusted, the one that she secretly admired, her friend, her...

She knew that she had to be strong and brave. She was an adult now. She had turned twenty-three a few weeks ago. She was the leader of the Kingpin Kunais. The one with the black bandanna, the powerful rogue ninja that could never be scared of anything.

Tarina tried to soothe her mind with those thoughts, but the weight of being a strong leader and all was suddenly pressing down on her shoulders. If Zabuza or Haku was seriously injured, then she knew that she would cry. If there was even a scratch on Haku, Tarina knew that Omari would throw a fit. Tarina knew how Omari felt about him, and she knew what Omari was longing to tell Haku. Haku had to survive this mission. He had to, or else all was lost for Omari.

She jumped as someone knocked on the door.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Tarina? Omari?" A young voice came booming through the closed door. Tarina ran over to open it. When she answered the door of the hideout, Kamichi and his squad stood at the door.

Kamichi was bigger now, in size, and in strength. He had grown smarter, too. His squad was two genin kids, and a jonin rogue ninja with a friendly face. One of the kids was a super-smart know-it-all, with short, neat brown hair, glasses, and was about only seven years old. Tarina found the kid adorable. The other one was Slicer's mini-me. He had bright red, messy hair just like Slicer's, had a sarcastic, yet contented look on his face, a few freckles, and since he was too young to carry a sword, he carried around a bright blue nightstick as a starer weapon. Kamichi was the only chunin and the oldest of the kids in his squad. Today, all four of them looked desperatley nervous.

"Hey, guys." Tarina said, showing as much bravado as she could muster.

"Uh, hi, Tarina. One of Gato's men sent us to tell you that a meeting is about to take place at his workbase, and everyone needs to be there." Kamichi reported in an unhappy tone.

"Meeting?! What happened to them?!" Omari yelped, dashing torwards the front door from her room.

The tiny genin kid in the glasses shrugged. "I don't know what happened to Haku and Zabuza, those samurai just ordered us to come here. And for some reason, Gato wasn't there to give us the word, it was just one of Gato's toadies to tell us."

"I _hate _samurai," Slicer's mini-me growled. "They think that they're better than us. And when we asked them what happened, they said, 'you'll just have to wait and see, little boy.'"

"Oh." Tarina got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Now Gato was missing? What more could happen? She turned to her fellow squad members. "Uh, we'd better go and see what that meeting's all about."

"Right." Slicer and Zamu spoke in low voices, while Omari gulped and kept her eyes on the ground.

_**Forty-Five Minutes Later...**_

"Okay, the meeting of Gato's employees is about to begin. Let's start out with roll call-" Gato's number one toady called out to the group of rogue ninja.

"Forget the stupid roll call, loser!" Slicer yelled, out of patience. They had been waiting in Gato's base for over thirty minutes, doing nothing but worrying. "Just pass around the status report and quit waiting! This is serious business! And where is everybody?! The last time I checked, eighty-nine people are supossed to be here, including Gato. I only see fifty-eight. We're missing thirty-one samurai and ninja."

Everybody could see that Slicer was speaking the truth. His Kekkei Genkai involved being very accurate in his chakra and calculations, and, despite his reckless behavior, his IQ was at a very high standard. He could calculate problems like those in an instant.

"Fine, whatever. Take one report and pass the rest down. The red paper's for Zabuza Momochi, the blue's for Haku, the yellow paper is for Gato, and the green ones are for the other samurai who went missing on the mission at the Land Of Waves." The samurai and his companion started to pass out four different stacks of flyers.

Gasps came from many ninja, and one woman started to cry. One of their teammates must have died. Tarina and her squad were the last to get all four flyers at the same time, and Tarina held them with shaky hands as Omari, Slicer, and Zamu looked over her shoulder and read silently.

_Status Report: 1_

_Name: Zabuza Momochi_

_Rank: Rogue Ninja/Jonin_

_Status: Deceased_

_Reason For Death: Kakashi Hatake(?)/ Gato's Samurai_

_Status Report 2_

_Name: Gato_

_Rank: Leader_

_Status: Deceased_

_Reason For Death: Decapitation/ Zabuza Momochi/ Kunai_

_Status Report 3_

_Name: Haku_

_Rank: Rogue Ninja/ Jonin_

_Status: Deceased_

_Reason For Death: Nine Tailed Fox (?)/ Kakashi Hatake/ Lightning Blade_

"No," Slicer whispered.

"Oh my g-" Slicer's words were choked off by his throat closing up.

Tarina gasped and suddenly collasped to the ground onto her knees, trembling, as everyone gasped in shock that the great Tarina, one of the most powerful rogue ninja in the Hidden Mist Village broke down crying and heaving at the spot, grasping the flyers in her hand, ignoring everyone's suprised murmurs.

"Hey, Tarina? What's the matter with you lately? What is it?" A rude rogue samurai asked her, bending down next to her, crossing his arms. Tarina whipped around, as furious as ever, and punched him in the face with all of her strength. After that one blow, Tarina continued to sob. The samurai fell to the ground, unconscious. No other ninja dared to get close except for Zamu and Slicer.

"Tarina..." Zamu whispered, kneeling. At first, Zamu thought with worry that Tarina was going to strike out at him. She didn't. Tarina reached out and clasped Zamu into her arms and cried into his shoulder as Slicer joined the hug.

And Omari just stood there.

Her mind...exploding.

The sound of her best friends and fellow squad members crying, Zamu's comforting words...Haku's sweet voice still ringing in her head, sounds of imaginary rookies cheering in her head as they leave Zabuza and Haku's corpses in the dust...taking that stupid bridgebuilder with them...

_No, no, please...I loved him...please don't let this happen...this isn't happening... _Omari was shaking her head violently, her eyes as wide as golf balls. Suddenly, she reeled over with a pitiful cry and fainted, with Kamichi rushing over, catching her, and placing her on the ground.

Kamichi wept uncontrollably, too. His sensei and best friend was dead. So was Zabuza. And the man who had given him a life in the first place, Gato, was dead, too...

He couldn't believe it. Who would dare mess with a kind and lovable ninja like Haku? And what did the Nine-Tailed Fox have to do with it? What was that about? Kamichi knew that the famous ninja's Lightning Blade must have done it, but did one of the rookie guards have...a certain special power inside of him? Kamichi had only heard of the fox demon in books. Who was that kid? What kind of careless, monsterous squad would want to hurt Haku? How could a rookie beat Haku, of all things?

_That nine-tailed guy must have cheated in some careless, devious way, like the Nine-Tailed-Fox would. _Kamichi thought grimly.

Every single samurai watched as every single member Kingpin Kunais and Squad 99 sat on the floor in the back of Gato's workbase and sobbed their hearts out, mourning for their best friends.

_**Three Days Later...**_

Tarina knocked on Omari's door with a small bowl of ramen in her hands. "Omari? Can I come in, please?" She said softly to the door.

No response.

Tarina slowly opened Omari's bedroom door and peeked in. Omari was buried under the covers on her bed, sniffling softly with a teddy bear snuggled in her arms. Tarina removed the covers and sat down on the bed with her.

"Wh-what do you want?" Omari managed to squeak out.

"Well, I don't mean to...bother you, but you haven't eaten or done anything in the past few days. I think you should eat something or at least go to the bathroom. You could get sick living like that, and I wouldn't want that to happen." Tarina whispered gloomily.

"Oh, what's the use?!" Omari exploded. "My life is basically over. Haku was more than just a friend. He was a mentor and an idol to follow after, the one I loved, and then some Hidden Leaf losers just come along and kill him and Zabuza just to protect a bridge builder! What is this world coming to? What would it matter if I just starved to death!?"

Tarina gulped, without words, not knowing what to say. Omari did have a point, after all. If rookies could come and kill their best friends to protect a bridge, then starving to death couldn't possibly a bad thing, compared to that. Not in this world.

"You know..." Tarina whispered, tears starting to stream down her face. "When I was little, about your age, I always had a crush on Zabuza. I thought that he was the strongest and best-looking ninja around, and I still kept being friendly torwards him despite his cruelty to others, and we became good friends."

Omari continued to sob.

Tarina wiped her tears away and set the bowl onto Omari's dresser. "Oh, Omari..."

"My heart is broken. It's like I have no reason to even be crying right now or starving to death. I don't even feel that I have the right to. I just want to disappear." Omari said, taking a deep breath, trying to recover. Her own strong words comforted her, and she slightly prided herself on her vivid, out-of-the-box way of thinking.

"I still want you to eat something. You have to keep healthy. It's been almost two days now that you haven't eaten a bite of food or water, okay?" Tarina asked her gently. "Please, just do that for me and then we'll talk."

Omari sat up with something strange in her eyes. "Actually, I'm in the mood for something else. I'm gonna take a little walk and go out by myself to get something to eat, okay?" She lied, sliding her feet out of her slippers and started to put her flip-flops on.

Tarina was suprised. "I- uh...yeah, you can go, if it'll make you feel better. You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just have some personal errands to run and then I'll be back shortly." She said, looking down at her feet.

"Alright. Just don't get into any trouble, okay?" She squeezed Omari in her arms before Omari waved back and walked out of the bedroom door, out to run some "personal errands."

Omari stood at Haku and Zabuza's grave, looking down at them. She sat down near Haku's grave, touching it lightly with her hand. The graves were located not too far past Gato's workbase. She touched Haku's sash, that was wrapped tightly around the gravestone. The brown sash that she had always found weird yet cool was blowing lightly in the breeze.

She wanted to keep the sash, but knew not to mess around or take anything from a place like this. She wanted to remember Haku by something, but...

There was nothing left but memories. And regrets. Omari should have come on that mission, even if she wasn't supossed to.

As she sat in silence, her hands wandering torwards Zabuza's shiny sword stuck in the dirt near the graves, she heard someone walking behind her.

It was the samurai that tarina had knocked out at the meeting. He had a small white bandage on the top of his nose. He sat down next to her, legs crossed, staring out at the beautiful sunset that was glowing torwards the center of the Hidden Mist Village.

"Uh, hey." Omari greeted in a light tone.

"Hey."

"What brings you here?" Omari asked curiously.

"Dunno. I just feel real sorry for those guys, that's all. I decided to pay some respect. And, this is my favorite place to watch the sunset. Hey, Omari, by the way, when you get the chance, tell Tarina that I'm sorry for offending her. I really didn't mean it." The samurai said.

"That's good to know." Omari sighed sadly.

"Oh, yeah. Some of the bridge builders had witnessed the fight that Haku, Zabuza, and the Hidden Leaf losers. I'm actually friends with one of the bridge workers. He told me all about it." The samurai said.

Omari perked up, but in a worried, anxious way. "And...?"

"He said that Haku didn't give it his all. He didn't want to hurt the two rookie guys that he was fightin'. My buddy also got word that after Haku pretended to finish off this one Uchiha rookie, the other spiky-haired one took it way too seriously. Then, after that, the spiky-haired Hidden Leaf dude went all crazy on him, releasing the spirit of the Nine-Tailed Fox. That kid was undefeatable. Haku tried to give it his all then, but his chakra was almost gone. Then, after the Nine-Tailed Freak nearly broke Haku's face, Haku begged for death for some reason." The samurai told her.

Omari gasped. "I know why! He probably didn't want to live anymore because he didn't want to fail to Zabuza! He must have been in terrible physical and emotional shape!"

The samurai nodded. "That must be it. And then, the the Nine-Tailed guy agreed and was about to do him in. Meanwhile, while Kakashi Hatake and Zabuza were finishing off, Kakashi used his Lightning Blade and got ready to kill Zabuza, who was helpless. Haku stopped the spiky-haired guy and ran at the speed of light, using the last of his energy, to jump in front of Kakashi Hatake and take the attack, saving Zabuza."

Tears flowed down Omari's red face. "That was one of the most beautiful things he has ever done for someone...giving his life up for the man that he cared about..." She began to sob uncontrollably, trying not to visualize the scene. "I loved that guy..."

"Yup. Kakashi was definatley ticked after that. So was the spiky-haired dude. Then, a gaggle of Gato's best men showed up, and for some stupid reason, tried to kill him. The assasin samurai did enough to take Zabuza down, but before he died, he killed off Gato, using his Demon Of The Hidden Mist energy. That could kill anyone." The samurai said. "And finally, in the end, Zabuza died right at Haku's side, and it started to snow. Then Kakashi and his rookie gang celebrated and went home while the bridge builder went back safe and sound, and that's all I know." The samurai said softly.

"Th-thank you. At least the mystery is clear to me now. It's all I need to know." Omari said in a low voice, her hands starting to shake violently.

"You okay?"

"You know what I want..." Omari whispered to him, starting to breathe heavily, speaking in a deadly tone.

"You...want their names, don't you? The rookies."

"Please. Give them to me. I know that you know. Your friend has had to have told you." Omari whispered, looking out into the dusk that was setting upon the Hidden Mist Village.

"Why do you-"

_"Now."_ Omari snarled.

"Uh, okay, kid, just chill." The samurai said uneasily. He whipped out a small crumpled peice of paper and a ballpoint pen from his pocket and worte the Hidden Leaf rookies' names down. After he was done, he handed to paper over to her and Omari squinted to read the sloppy writing.

_Squad 7- Hidden Leaf Village_

_Leader: Kakashi Hatake_

_Members: Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki._

"Thank you." Omari said in a deadly calm voice, putting the note inside of her back pocket.

"Uh, Omari?" The samurai said.

"What?"

"About that Uzumaki kid...he's the spiky Nine-Tailed guy, you know. And just so you know, they call that new brigde the Great Naruto Bridge, if that helps you. It's named after the 'hero' that saved the Land Of Waves." The samurai told her.

That made Omari even more mad. "He's a hero for punching out my friend? Kakashi doesn't even get arrested for killing Haku, a perfectly innocent boy?! They're all..._rewarded _for that?!" She shrieked, clenching her fists, standing up.

"Omari...please calm down," The samurai begged, standing next to her. "You don't want this getting out of hand. I did a favor for you, and you have to treat that favor as a delicate gift that can easily break or go out of control. What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna..." Omari sneered.

"What?" The samurai demanded.

"I'll..." Omari growled in a now loathing, breathless tone.

The samurai cringed in fear as Omari uttered out her last words to the samurai, swearing her final vengence.

"I'm gonna kill them!"

_**Oh, no!**_

_**Omari's out to avenge Haku! What will become of The Kingpin Kunais and Squad Seven? Will Omari discontinue with her sudden rage, or will she continue on her devestating journey, to wipe out Squad Seven from existance! Will she go on with her plan, or will someone stop her? Find out now by reading the next chapter! Just keep one thing in mind: One character will die, and it's one of my characters! Stay tuned!**_

_**Requested Reviews...**_

_**1. Please name your favorite character from this story so far (besides Haku or Zabuza, of course!) :)**_

_**2. IMPORTANT!: Predict who will die in the next chapter:(**_


	11. Aftermath: 2: Omari's Revenge

_**The Aftermath: Part 2: Omari's Revenge.**_

"Omari, I don't think that we should chase after some twelve-year-olds and Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi will tear us up if you touch one of his precious pupils." Zamu warned Omari after she told them what she had in mind.

"I think it's a sweet idea. The thought of getting real revenge on some brats. Wait till we see the looks on their faces when when we crush them into ash. Then you'll have a good laugh, Zamu." Slicer slapped him on the back and then proceeded to clean his sword.

"It's an absolutley disgusting idea to go after some Hidden Leaf losers who probably wont even put up a fight against us. It makes us no better than them. Omari, do you think that Haku would approve of something like that? It would be okay if you were protecting someone you loved and were trying to rescue them, but that's not the case. This is just revenge. It's not happening." Tarina concluded.

"You always said that we have to go with the vote of the team!" Omari shot back. "It's three against one!"

"Well, Zamu still hasn't decided yet, and it looks like he's leaning torwards my opinion, right, Zamu?" Tarina glared threateningly at Zamu, who gulped and looked away.

"I, um..." Zamu was frightened. If he refused either one, he knew that there would be consequenses, especially if he didn't go with Tarina. Omari couldn't do much, but both Slicer and Tarina were stronger than him. He knew that he shouldn't ever betray his leader, Tarina, but Zabuza and Haku were two of his best buddies. Not to mention, Slicer and him were like brothers, and Slicer wanted to go hunt down some rookies. This revenge sounded pretty good...

"_Well?"_ Tarina said, tapping her left foot.

"I'm going to agree with...Omari and Slicer." Zamu declared nervously.

"Looks like we're going on a road trip," Omari said calmly, stepping torwards the door.

Zamu shrank back from Tarina, expecting her to get mad and hit him or something, but Tarina decided not to do anything. She had probably steamed off at only Slicer a few times, but never Omari or Zamu.

"Whatever. Have it your way. I'm staying here. You go ahead, hunt them down, stomp them into ash, and get thrown into the Hidden Leaf cell. If that's what you really want, then fine." Tarina said angrily.

Omari sighed, glaring at her best friend. "They killed Haku and Zabuza! How can I get it through your thick head? They're dead! You'll never see them again! Doesn't that make you want to punish the people who shot down your dreams of being with Zabuza forever?!"

"No. It may make me want to cry, but it doesn't make me want to become a rookie-hunter." Tarina said stonily.

"You know that you truly want to go after them. You're just scared that you'll get hurt by Kakashi the Copycat!" Slicer growled at Tarina.

Tarina glared back at them. "I'm not a coward! It doesn't matter if they're Hidden Leaf genin or not! It matters if we have respect or not! Rogue ninja are rogue ninja, but the Kingpin Kunais aren't like the other savages that work for Gato! It's weak to ambush them! I'm not going, and that's it." Tarina said with finality.

Omari shook her head and sighed. "Whatever. Let's just go." She knew that she couldn't force Tarina to come along. Omari guestured to her teammates to go, who followed quickly behind her out the door. They shut the door behind them, off to get their revenge on Naruto Uzumaki and his squad. Following as if Omari were the leader. Sickening.

Tarina felt hot tears flow down her cheeks and sighed, going into her room and sitting down on the bed. She lay there for about thirty minutes, spending her time thinking, fretting over Omari. She knew that she just couldn't dog-train Omari anymore. She was growing up, becoming her own person. In three years, Omari would be an official adult. Omari wouldn't agree with everything Tarina said at this age. She wasn't supossed to, after all. If Omari, at age fifteen, actually agreed with everything that Tarina said, it would be abnormal.

Tarina missed the old Omari. She missed the little Omari, the one who ran to her if she was attacked by a squirrel or if she had lost her teddy bear. The Omari that would blush or bite her lip if Tarina even brought up the subject of Haku. The Omari that Tarina could tease, care for, and keep under control. That Omari. Not this one. _This_ one who wants to kill for a kill. _This_ one that weeps for days on her bed, starving herself for losing a friend. _This _Omari. The one that didn't want to move on in life.

What would Omari do with herself if she completed her mission? Tarina knew that Omari would hate herself, then become a dark form of herself, become a mere shadow of Omari that was pure evil. Like Tarina had become when she was around ten years old, before she had started to lead the Kingpin Kunais. Tarina used to be a mere shadow of darkness that struck when bothered with, but founding the Kinpin Kunais squad had saved her.

Slicer and Zamu had changed her, and then when she had met Omari, Tarina returned to her old self again. Omari was really the one who had saved Tarina nine years ago. Omari had softened Tarina's heart and gave Tarina something to care for, a person in whom she truly loved as a friend. Omari needed her.

Tarina knew what she had to do now. It was time.

It was time to save Omari. Before the Nine-Tailed Fox got her.

_**Meanwhile...**_

"There they are. I would recognize an Uchiha from anywhere. That has to be Kakashi's squad." Slicer whispered to Omari and Zamu from the tree that they were hiding in, right above Squad Seven's head in the Hidden Leaf Village. They had made it there and found the squad in less than thirty minutes because of their Shadow Blend Jutsu, which allowed the Kingpin Kunais amazing agility. Squad Seven was walking by in a large training feild, in the back of the Leaf Ninja academy.

"This is perfect," Omari grinned. "It's three weaklings and Kakashi against two rogue chunin and a jonin. Pretty good odds of us winning, don't ya think?"

Omari and Tarina were the two jonin of the Kinpin Kunais, but Tarina wasn't there. Slicer and Zamu were only chunin, but they were pretty strong.

As the trio watched from above, the spiky-haired blonde kid grinned at the other two, walking ahead. "I'm starvin'. Can't we go and get some ramen already?"

"No, Naruto. That's the fifth time you've asked already. I told you, we have to finish our training first. Ramen later." Kakashi Hatake said sternly

"Loser," The Uchiha boy grumbled at Naruto.

"Shut up!" Naruto yelped, pointing menacingly at him.

"Cha! Leave Sasuke alone!" The preppy girl bopped Naruto on the head. The boy named Naruto rubbed his head, moaning as he walked by. A distraction. It was Omari's perfect chance to strike.

Omari leaped out if the tree, throwing four senbon in the Naruto kid's direction, one aimed at each of his arms and legs, in a move to make him fall over. Naruto cried out and ducked, falling clumsily to the ground.

Slicer, Zamu, and Omari landed onto the ground, facing the group of stunned and bewildered rookies, and a very relaxed-looking Kakashi.

"Hey, lady! What was that for?!" Naruto yelled in an obnoxious, angry voice.

"I'm no lady. I'm a teenager." Omari sneered.

"Who cares? Why did you attack Naruto?! Who are you guys, and what do you want with us?!" The pink-haired girl screamed, helping poor Naruto up.

"Hold it, Sakura." Kakashi held a hand out and stepped forward. He glared at the Kinpin Kunais. "You're trespassing, you know. I could just have you lot of rogues arrested, or we could just attack you. You're messing with the wrong squad." He shrugged.

"I don't care who we're dealing with." Omari growled, glaring straight into Kakashi's eyes.

"Why are you here? Tell us, or else." Sasuke whipped out a kunai and flipped it in his hands.

"To get revenge on you punks for killing off our friends." Slicer said, unleashing his precious golden sword.

"Wh-what friends?" Naruto stammered.

"I know who thery're talking about." Sasuke told his squad. "They're talking about the masked man and Zabuza."

Naruto gulped. "Is...is that true?" Then he turned to Omari. "You're his girlfriend or something?"

"Pretty much, loser." Omari replied smoothly.

"So, you're Haku avengers, huh?" Naruto growled. "Well, I certainly didn't kill either one of them! Go target someone else!"

"We know about you, Naruto. You're the Nine-Tailed Fox that totally crushed his spirits." Zamu said.

Naruto's lip quivered.

"And _you,_" Omari pointed at Kakashi. "are the one that can't control where you aim your Lightning Blades. You're the one that totally destroyed him."

Kakashi didn't respond.

"And finally, _you._" Slicer guestured to Sasuke. "The last little brat to join the battle. You're the last Uchiha who got beaten senseless by Haku. You were lucky that he was feeling generous that day."

Sasuke cringed, trying not to think about the humiliating defeat.

"Well, okay, you've proved your point. Now what? Are you going to fight us or not, tresspassers?" Kakashi challenged.

Naruto looked worried. He looked up at Kakashi and whispered, "Gee, I don't know if we can beat these guys. They look strong. I mean, those bandannas look pretty official."

"Shut up, Naruto." Sasuke growled. "I want to fight them. They're avengers, like me. And I want to prove to this guy that I'm not weak." He pointed menacingly at Slicer. Slicer just cackled.

Naruto nodded. "Right! I'm not afraid! Let's go!" He fastened his headband, and the two teams faced off, with the Kingpin Kuanis staring menacingly at the queasy yet courageous Squad Seven.

"Hey, Omari," Slicer whispered. "Me and Zamu will go after Kakashi. The Uchiha brat is mine, so don't worry about him, either. You just focus on the girl and the Nine-Tailed Freak, okay?"

"Right." Omari whispered. Omari nodded at her followers as a sort of a signal, and the three Kingpin Kunai members charged at great speed torwards their enemies.

As Slicer suddenly ran off to fight Sasuke, Zamu skidded to a stop right in front of Kakashi.

"Well, are you gonna just stand there, or attack? We don't have all day, you know." Kakashi said, which angered Zamu greatly. Zamu was going to save his Kekkei Genkai for last, but maybe now was the time.

Zamu just stared off into the distance, doing nothing, which puzzled Kakashi. What Zamu was really doing was building up all of his mental and physical energy into his body. Kakashi didn't know what this guy was up to.

Kakashi wanted to save his energy for that one girl who was leading the trio, but he knew that Zamu's power could be bad news. Kakashi grimaced, and held his left wrist with his right hand, making a few quick hand signs for his Chidori. Zamu's expression didn't change, but his pupils grew by staring into the chakra-powered light that glowed from Kakashi's shaking palm.

When it was done powering up, Kakashi charged at Zamu at a quick pace, hand aimed at his heart. Zamu suddenly grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and quickly powered up a bright red form of Chidori and charged.

"What is_ that?!"_ Kakashi screeched as the two powered-up chakra-filled blows collided. It was an uneven match. For some strange reason, Kakashi was struck down and thrown back several feet. Zamu just calmly skidded to a stop, ready when Kakashi was to continue the battle.

_It's the Reverse Elemental type of Kekkei Genkai! _Kakashi thought with shock. _It's pretty hard to believe that a young man such as this has mastered this techneque, but, hey, this is Haku and Zabuza's friends we're dealing with. _

The Reverse Elemental techneque was only found in ninja of certain clans, and it was considered a form of Kekkei Genkai. Whatever attack the opponent did, Zamu would copy it, only he would use the opposite element of attack that would have the advantage over Kakashi's. For instance, if Kakashi used an earth type attack, such as the Headhunter Jutsu, then Zamu would do almost the same thing, only in fire style by trapping the opponent in flames instead of the ground.

Kakashi quickly checked on Sasuke and that Slicer guy, and it seemed to be that Sasuke ws doing just fine. It was a pretty fair match over there.

"Sorry, Kakashi," Zamu singsonged. "But I don't think that you can win this match. If you tried another attack like that, then you're done for."

_Uh-oh. Looks like my opponent's not as weak as I thought. _Kakashi thought, lifting up his headband to reveal his sharingan. If he traced Zamu's movements before Zamu carried them out, then Kakashi could change the type of attack right before Zamu struck, therefore giving him an advantage.

But Kakashi had a feeling that it would take more than a mere sharingan to defeat Zamu.

__

Sakura had been easy to strike down. She was already knocked out. Omari hadn't killed her, partially because she was innocent, and she didn't have to worry about a weak kid like that. Omari had stuck two senbon in each of her limbs to just make Sakura faint from the pain and the sight of true goriness. Sakura now lay in a heap against a large tree in the feild, breathing slowly.

Naruto glared at his opponent, enfuriated that his comrade had been struck down. "You want a real fight, huh, lady?" Naruto screeched.

Omari smiled back. "I'm sure that you know that I really don't want to hurt any of your friends. I'm also sure that you're clever enough to know why I'm here, right, little boy?"

Naruto looked back sadly into Omari's eyes. _I know that there's true kindness in there somewhere. She doesn't want to kill me. She's just troubled and doesn't know how to move on, _He thought guiltily. _But I'll have to fight her. She's the one who ambushed us. She deserves it!_

Naruto focused on the energy of the Nine-Tailed Fox, knowing that he'd need it. The Shadow Clones wouldn't work at a speedy ninja like Omari. Besides, Naruto had seen Omari transform into that dark shape of herself on the wall when she had snuck up on him. She practically _was_ a shadow! Would good would the Shadow Clone Jutsu do? Just waste chakra.

Naruto summoned his red chakra, the chakra that nobody else had. His chakra. The kind that crushed Haku's spirits. Omari could sense the deep chill in the air as Naruto put his hands together professionally, trying his hardest to beg the Nine-Tailed Fox for some power. When the request was granted, Naruto opened his eyes, and they were a blood red color. The whisker-like markings on his cheeks grew into real whiskers. His hair had gone from wild to wildest. He was glowing with chakra now.

"Lady," Naruto growled. "I'm ready for anything. But if you and your stupid comrades back off now, I wont have to come after you."

Omari just stared into the eyes of the demon fox as Nine-Tailed Naruto got down on all fours, prepering for an attack.

The sight of the boy.

Sickening.

Enraging Omari. This chakra didn't frighten her. It enraged her. It was feeding her mind with energy. It was the chakra that had destroyed her friend. The bad chakra that Haku had been helpless against. Horrible. Omari shut her eyes, trying not to imagine the hideous, grwoling, beastly thing inside of Naruto, tried not to let anger overcome her...

_"What's this?!" _The Nine-Tailed Naruto howled in suprise.

"Uuughh..." Omari was growling.

_"Ack! _Get Omari outta that battle, now!" Slicer screamed. "Before it's too late!"

Zamu made a beeline for Omari, who was now trembling, with blue, glowing, energy was vibrating in waves down her entire body, with mysterious green symbols flowing from her head to her toes. Her eyes were a bright blue, with an electric green symbol floating inside of her pupils, almost like the sharingan.

Zamu grabbed her in his arms and shook her. "C'mon, Omari! Snap out of it! Now! Don't do this! You could get us all killed!"

_''Shuuuuttt uuup!!" _Omari screeched and smacked him away with great force. Zamu landed on his rear on the ground in front of her. He quickly squirmed away from her. _"He's not going to get away like this. Not without seeing what I can do..."_

"Oh, man, we're gonna die! A fight between her and the Nine-Tailed Fox!" Slicer slapped his hands to his head.

"Naruto! I want you to stop!" Kakashi said, taking Slicer's and Zamu's word for it.

Naruto didn't respond. If he wanted to become a Hokage, then he needed to learn to overcome all enemies. Even if it meant fighting this Omari. Whatever she was becoming.

"What is she?! Has this happened before?!" Sasuke whispered to Slicer, willing to believe every word he said.

"Of course it has. Too many times before. You see...her Kekkei Genkai, can get a bit out of control sometimes, like Haku's. But, unlike Haku's, one it starts, it cannot be stopped unless someone strikes her down. It's much more stronger, and ten times more monsterous. Only our leader, Tarina has ever had to defeat Omari to get her to settle down. But this...I've never seen her this powerful. Her eyes have never had our clan's symbol glowing in it before." Slicer said fretfully. "She'll kill herself and Naruto if this stays under control. We could also be in danger. Oh, man, I wish Tarina were here..."

All of a sudden, the two new rivals charged against each other, beginning their battle. _The _battle

Omari charged. She moved at lightning speed, down on all fours like Naruto, only leaping more than running. One might laugh at the idea of Omari's inside spirit representing a hare instead of something ferocious like a fox with nine tails, but Omari's power was beyond belief.

Naruto dodged as quick and as agile as an alley rat, but Omari's form suddenly disappeared into the ground into a shadow, popped up back behind Nine-Tailed Naruto and slashed at him with four senbon set in her hand.

Naruto's bloody wound rapidly healed, and Naruto struck at her with a chakra-powered fist, as angered as ever.

Like Nibbles, Omari made an electric sheild from her body and repelled the vicious attack. A glowing, green bubble formed around her body, sparkling, serving as a new attack form. Naruto copied the creation, only his was made of red chakra. The two spherical vehicles crashed against each other, rolling around in the dirt. The sky was dark.

The two bubbles full of energy crashed against each other now in mid-air, and all the others could do was watch the two kids fight.

Naruto's bubble sphere popped as two senbon stabbed into the red air sac around him. Omari let hers go, too, as she lowered herself to the ground. She started to charge up another powerful green energy attack. After it was as charged as it could get, Omari released it. Naruto did the same, only a light beam came bursting from his mouth instead. His chakra would hopefully be enough to stun Omari.

The two attacks collided with each others, then exploded into huge drops of acid liquid that rained upon the onlookers across the scorched training feild.

Sakura had woken up, and was now huddling under the tree in fright. Zamu was trembling in fear and crying. Slicer just stood there. Sasuke looked about ready to attack someone, even though the horrible, violent situation couldn't be helped. Kakashi stood under the tree, keeping the frightened Sakura company, wondering what would happen if he broke the two kids up from their battle.

But everyone knew that nothing could be done to stop their Omari and Naruto's battle. It was a fight to the finish.

Naruto and Omari charged again at each other on all fours, head on, no real plan whatsoever, just to destroy each other and win. Naruto barely even had a reason for combat. Their heads collided with each other, another even match. Naruto swiped at Omari's face with his claws, but Omari ducked and sent another violent, green-and-blue fist right into Naruto's stomach.

Naruto fell back, but quickly recovered, and stood once again, growling in mutated Omari's direction. Omari looked even more powerful. She was glowing with hostility and pure energy. It looked like she was about to burst with energy and fury.

"If she self-destructs all her power at Naruto, then all of us are done for! We should have listened to Tarina!" Zamu cried helplessly.

If Omari's power grew strong enough to explode into one huge beam at Naruto and everyone else (including herself), then Omari would turn back to normal if she survived. So, not only would it kill Naruto and the Nine-Tailed Fox, but Kakashi, Slicer, Sasuke, Zamu, Sakura and most likely Omari as well.

Omari wasn't ready for her final strike yet. She powered up her second-strongest attack and launched it at Naruto. Naruto did the same with his glowing red chakra, which was now redder than ever. Naruto wouldn't bust into flames or anything, but the seal could burst, which was another serious risk.

The attack would have collided with each other. _Would _have, but, just as the two attack beams were about to cross each other and hit...

_BLAM! _A Supernova Laserbeam blasted in between the two attack beams and stopped them from colliding.

"Tarina!" Zamu screamed with joy.

"Who dares to try and stop our fight?!" Omari screeched, whipping her head around in the direction of where Tarina's attack had come from.

"I dare to," Tarina stepped forward, breathless. "Omari, you have to stop this. You're endangering two whole squads here, including yourself." Her Supernova Laserbeam had really drained her energy, along with the fact that she had run miles to get there in time.

"I'm not stopping untill I kill him!" Omari stabbed a finger at Nine-Tailed Naruto. "Stay out of this, Tarina!"

"You'd better stop right now!" Tarina cried. "If you kill him, then you'll be dead. And even if you survived this match, how could you live with yourself knowing that you've hurt people mercilessly yet still haven't truly accomplished anything?!"

"I don't care." Omari said in Tarina's direction. "This was meant to be. Besides, what are you gonna do if I don't stop?"

"If you don't stop...then I'll have to kill you."

Omari froze, temporarily frightened by Tarina's terrifying words. "_You're going to...kill...me_?" She squeaked out. This was her best friend. Her caretaker. Practically her big sister. Who would have thought that Tarina could ever do such a thing?

"If you don't stop right this second, then I wont have to." Tarina said with a cold look in her eyes.

Omari was about to give up right then, but she had just remembered something. An angry look crossed her face. "Wait a second. You can't possibly hurt me, Tarina. You've just used up all of your chakra with your Supernova Laserbeam. And if you think that you can do it again, then you must be stupid."

Tarina had just remembered that, too. She knew that Omari would never say things like that to Tarina, but this wasn't Omari. Her Kekkei Genkai was based on a certain ancestor, and this particular one was taking over her personality. If she could just get the old Omari to come back again. She knew that she had sparked one of the true Omari's nerves by saying that she would kill her, but that didn't work out so well.

"So, now what? Now that you've lied to me and I caught you red-handed, I'm not going to believe a word that you say." Omari said angrily. "You're a double-crosser, you know that? I ask you to help me on this mission, but you refuse."

Tarina started to cry uncontrollably. "Omari, please...just listen to me. Please. I just want you to stop. I care about you, and I don't want you to get hurt, okay?" She sobbed.

Naruto glared at Omari. "So, now what? Are you going to give up and comfort your friend or continue this battle?" He growled, his inside spirit urging her to fight on. "I hated Zabuza, you know that? He was my enemy. And if you're avengers of those guys, I have no sympathy for you."

Omari was wild with anger. "That's it!" She screamed. "Now it's over!" She said, charging up every ounce of her energy, ready to blow it all out at Naruto. The others had taken cover. The onlookers would live, because Slicer had quickly calculated and pointed out a safe hiding place near a tree, where they all were huddling now. But Tarina stayed put.

Tarina screamed. "_Eh-mar-rhiiii! Don't do it, please! Stop the fight! I'm begging you! Ninja shouldn't fight like this! This is just wrong! You'll kill yourself and Naruto!"_

Zamu was horrified. "Tarina, come here! Get out of there! You'll get hurt!" He yelled.

"Shut up! Leave me alone! I have to stop this." Tarina said. _I can't let you die, Omari. If you go on with your final attack, it'll be too much this time. Approximatley 67 times more powerful than last time. You and Naruto will die. But I can't let that happen. I just can't..._

"Get outta there, lady! Get away from them, and let them finish it! You're crazy, to get involved! Just come on!" Sasuke called out to her in worry.

"Omari! I've loved you like a sister ever since I met you! Do you think I'm lying?! Just calm down and stop! Ninja aren't supossed to be like this!" Tarina was screaming. "This is your last chance, Omari!"

Omari thought about Haku. Zabuza. The two friends that she could never get over. Was it worth it in her mind to let loose the attack? Yes.

"Aauuuuggh!" Omari screamed as she let loose of the attack, which fired at Naruto in a swirling green dragon's head.

Naruto released an equivalent of the attack, sending a power beam that had the shape of the Nine-Tailed Fox's head. The two were racing at each other, each opposite attack ready to collide and hit Omari and Naruto.

_"Stttooooppp!!!" _Tarina screamed, running torwards the beam of attacks, tears flowing, willing to do anything to stop the fight. _I'm sorry, but I can't let you do this. I love you, Omari..._

The two attacks collided, but for some strange reason, neither Naruto or Omari were hurt.

The explosion. Extrordinary. Horrible. Breath-taking. Glowing peices of the explosion bubble shattering to the ground. But, for some, odd, particular reason, neither Omari or Naruto died from the explosion. It had blown up a second too early. What had happened? Everyone strained to see as the smoke cleared and a body was revealed.

There, laying on the ground, where the two attacks were supossed to hit, was Tarina.

And Omari ran to the scene of the finished explosion, the ground scorched and vibrating from the impact it had had on the earth...and Tarina. She had taken the full-blast attack. _Both of them._

Tarina was lying on the ground, motionless. When Omari touched her, Tarina felt so warm. Too hot for a living human's body temperature.

"Tarina?!" Omari was back to normal now, shaking Tarina's shoulders, expecting her to wake up and start talking. Tarina's lifeless body was sparking with green and red little volts. Blood was everywhere.

Naruto just stood there, shocked.

"_Tarina?! What's wrong with you?!_" Omari's voice was cracking. She didn't understand her teammate's death. It was impossible. She shook Tarina even more violently everyone rushed to the destroyed part of the feild.

Nobody had to check her pulse. The fatality was certain, yet there were no visible wounds on Tarina. Zamu started to wail.

"Tarina?!" Omari asked again to the body.

Slicer could barely speak. "Please try to understand, Omari..." Tears were straming down her face.

"_What's there to understand?" _Omari asked, thinking that her false clueness would fix everything. Burning tears were brimming at her eyes and her face was turning bright red.

"She's...gone. I'm really sorry about this. Tarina gave her life up for you and Naruto." Kakashi said softly to Omari, fixing his headband so that it covered up his sharingan once again.

"No. This isn't happening. You're lying! Tarina's not dead! She's our leader! She can't die!" Omari was screaming.

"He's...not lying." Sasuke whispered, putting a hand on Omari's shoulder while Slicer and Zamu were bawling.

"_TARINA!!" _Omari screeched and fell onto Tarina's corpse, sobbing. "I'm sorry, Tarina. I'm so sorry...I should have listened to you..."

Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi were now at a loss for words. They had seen deaths come before, but never like this. This was depressing. These were Haku and Zabuza's best friends, and now the beloved leader of their gang was dead.

After a few moments, the regular form of Naruto stepped over to the scene, with a horrified and upset look on his face. If he had known that Tarina had cared so much about Omari...Naruto never had anyone such as that in his life. He didn't understand.

Naruto was about to kneel and speak to poor Omari, but Omari whipped around, with her eyes as scary as ever. "Get away from me! This is your fault, you know! If you hadn't had the Nine-Tailed Fox in you, none of this whole thing would have happened! Haku, Zabuza, and Tarina would be alive if you hadn't come along! _You're _the reason for their deaths, Naruto! You _are _death!"

Omari's last words repelled Naruto. _I am death? How could any human being turn against another and say something like that?! No, that can't be...I'm... _Naruto started to shake.

Omari wasn't finished yet. She suddenly tackled Naruto to the ground, furious, enraged, and took out three senbon, ready for Naruto's throat.

"Omari, stop it!" Zamu cried.

Naruto cowered in fear of Omari's murderous eyes and the razor sharp senbon. Senbon were not really meant to kill people, but he was sure that Omari would find a way. Just as he waited for his death when Omari smirked savagely and picked up the first senbon, Slicer grabbed her and carried her farther apart from Naruto.

_"Stop it! Stop it! Lemme go! He killed Tarina! I have to get rid of him! And when I do, he'll be ripped to shreds, I swear! I'll destroy him!" _Omari screamed, ballistic. "He messed with the wrong people, and now I'm going to mess with his life! Let...me...GO!" Her teammates had never seen her this crazy before.

Naruto just sat there, in shock, tears streaming down his face as Slicer and Zamu tried to restrain and Omari and confiscate her senbon. He knew that he deserved some sort of punishment for what he had done. He wished that the Nine-Tailed Fox was no more, or at least inside of someone else, no matter what sort of powers it gave him.

_**Seven Hours Later...**_

After Tarina was buried at the same site as Zabuza and Haku, the two groups sat, silently praying. Naruto sat close to his own squad, thinking that the others would attack him. Omari had been crying the whole time, but she was oddly settling down now.

A few minutes later, Naruto decided to pay his respects and apologize to Omari. "Omari...that's your name, right?"

Omari didn't respond, just kept looking into the shadowy night that cast upon the Hidden Mist Village that they had traveled to take Tarina's body to.

"Well, um, listen. I'm sorry about what happened back there. I don't know what came over me, and..." Naruto started.

"You want to say that now both of our lives are wrecked? Well, mine, anyway." Omari whispered softly, which were the first real, non-gutteral, non-screaming words she had said in a long while.

"I, um..."

"Naruto. I hate you. You have to understand that, at least. In life, you have enemies and allies, in your village or another. Do not ever think that I will forgive you. Keep that in mind." Omari told him, getting her things gathered.

Naruto gulped at her strong, hateul words, but nodded. "I...yes. I understand that."

"But you have respect. All of you, and that's what makes a true squad. I know that you're sorry." Omari said, her tone getting darker.

"Good." Naruto sighed with relief.

"However, you have to remember that I'll most likely be back to kill you someday."

"Ahh!" Naruto yelped, frightened. "Now? When? What?" He nearly jumped off of the ground.

"Not now. Someday. Once an ememy, always an enemy in this case. I want you to train, get stronger, and fight me again. I'll be there to remind you of that." Omari said quietly, in a slightly threatening tone.

"...?" Naruto was without words, not knowing what to say next. Sasuke thought that this was a pure threat. Sakura was shocked. Kakashi understood what the girl was saying. The battle was not over. Maybe, just maybe, in five years, Omari would be back. Kakashi knew that Omari was a strong person. Omari knew what she was talking about. She wasn't warning Naruto, she was preparing him. For next time.

"You'd better be ready. All of you. That means you, Naruto. This isn't over yet. I'll never forget what you all did to my friends, got that?" Omari said.

Naruto put on his game face. "Don't worry! I'm ready anytime! Buh-live it!" He pumped his fist in the air, while Kakashi just shook his head. Sakura and Sasuke still didn't understand the concept of non-savage rivalry, and they also didn't understand the new high level of Omari's maturity. But, Kakashi knew that they would learn. Even Naruto didn't undestand well the true way of the shinobi. Omari would even perhaps be the one to teach all of them the hard way. But, that was how all ninja were. Their fates in the future all depended on what they know and don't know.

"Fine, then. Farewell for now...losers!" Omari told them, and suddenly, she and her two teammates disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke just stared into where they had been. They just had made a deal with a bunch of rogue ninja to fight to the death someday.

"Well, there's a new event to add to our memo." Sakura said softly. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, I'm not sure I want to fight them again."

"Don't worry. They've gone to mourn for Tarina's death and rebuild their team after their leader's death. They understand their defects now. And so do we. Both of us will become stronger and more under control. We will be completley changed by then, don't you worry." Kakashi told them.

This put an automatic ease to their worries. But, they knew that they hadn't seen the last of the Kingpin Kunais.

_**Turn To The Next Chapter! It's Not Over Yet!**_

_**This was the most sad and violent chapter that I have ever written. I even have suprised myself with my desire to put Tarina's death and the fight into detail! I cried while writing this, because Tarina was my favorite. I knew that I had to do it, because it's the way the story should be, and I knew that everyone was thinking, "Oh, I know that Omari's gonna die. It's so obvious!". **_

_**Oh, yeah! Do you recall me saying that there is only twelve chapters in the series? Well, that's wrong. There are more to come! I can't stand ending the series without their last fight or telling who is joining the Kingpin Kunais! Be ready for more!**_

_**...Requested Reviews...**_

_**1. Do you think I am a...**_

_**A. A tricky author**_

_**B. An evil author**_

_**C. A strange author**_

_**D. A little bit of all three!**_

_**2. Did I shock you when I killed off the funniest girl character in the story?**_

_**3. Did your eyes feel wet when you read about Tarina's death?**_

_**4. Who do you think will become leader of the Kingpin Kunais in the next chapter? (THINK!)**_


	12. Aftermath: 3: Rebuilding The Team

_**The Aftermath: Part 3: Rebuilding The Team...**_

_**Four Days Later...**_

"It's all my fault. I killed Tarina." Omari wept. "I hate myself. I can never lead the Kinpin Kunais...I'm hopeless."

"No, no, no, Omari. Don't think like that. You didn't kill Tarina. You'll...be a great leader, I promise." Kamichi was making attempts to comfort her. He had come over to make her feel better about the loss. And, now, Omari had another burden on her shoulders. She was appointed leader of the Kingpin Kuanis. She didn't even have a choice. Slicer and Zamu weren't experienced enough, and Omari was the only jonin in the group.

"Waaah! I'll never get over this! _Why _does everything have to happen to me?!" Omari punched the pillow that she was clutching in her room. The pillow wasn't enough. She wanted to punch some_body, _not some_thing_. She had tried punching the wall, but that only resulted in pure pain.

"Yes, you will. Don't worry. Things will get better, I promise you." Kamichi assured her, less confident than before.

Omari felt like punching Kamichi. Not that he wasn't trying, but his words were annoying her. Kamichi was just trying to be kind, and was trying to help her out. She couldn't just take her anger out on Kamichi, even though she had never liked him much. For the five years she had known him, he was a cocky brat, but now, ever since Haku, Zabua, and Tarina's deaths, he had changed.

"I don't want to be a leader. Slicer should be the leader. He didn't kill anyone. He's not a bad person, like I am. And what about Zamu? He's older than me. Why can't he take over? He's twenty-five years old!" Omari cried, squeezing the pillow so hard that it bursted into a cloud of feathers that rained upon them in Omari's room.

Kamichi gulped. Omari was definatley losing it. He scooted away from her a bit on the bed, uncomfortable.

"_Why _did all of this have to happen to me?! _Why? WHY? WHY?!_" Omari screamed. She grabbed Kamichi and punched him three times in the stomach and then harshly threw him aside. It felt good, but it was wrong. Her heart was still aching. She flopped down face-first on the bed and bawled as Kamichi moaned and clutched his stomach.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to say anymore." Kamichi whimpered. "I tried to help, but you just keep denying the fact that you didn't kill Tarina. You're not going to make your life any better or fix anything by blaming yourself and striking out at an eleven-year-old."

"I know...but, it's just so hopeless!" Omari screeched, throwing herself on the bed once again.

Kamichi was really aiming for an apology from Omari, but he knew that it wasn't happening. He felt horrible that his friends were dead, but he didn't cry every minute of the day. Just because someone else's dreams died doesn't mean that you can stop chasing yours. That was Kamichi's motto. Because if you kept chasing after your dream and moved on, you would be sucessful and make that precious person in the sky proud of you.

Kamichi wanted to tell Omari about the way he saw the world's balance, but she'd just shoot down everything he'd say and start bawling , maybe even hit him again. So he just kept quiet.

After a few minutes of watching poor Omari cry, Kamichi decided to offer her to do something. "Is there anything that I can do to make you feel any better?" He asked her sadly. "Maybe we could do something to take a load off of your mind for a while."

"Take a load off of my mind? If we do something, the thoughts in my mind will jst build up to make an even bigger load for when we get back! Are you crazy?!" Omari shouted tearfully.

"No, but I think that you are," Kamichi grumbled angrily. He had tried not to be a little brat for once and share his true feelings with Omari, but she was just discouraging him. It made Kamichi mad. Omari didn't understand that she wasn't the only one who was mourning for Tarina, Haku, or Zabuza. Kamichi had feelings, too.

Omari would have punished him, but she was too upset to do anything about it.

"Listen...I'm sorry for getting so mad at you." Kamichi said. "Now, just try and relax. I've known them for a very long time, and I loved them just as much as you did. But, don't get me wrong. You were the one who loved Haku the most. I could tell." Kamichi said, turning on his 'I've-got-a-little-story-to-tell-you' tone of voice.

Omari still kept weeping and seemed oblivious to him, but Kamichi kept talking.

"Even though I've known you all for only three years now, I formed a special connection with you guys from the start." Kamichi said. "Over the years, after I became a genin, I kept challenging Haku to sparring matches. I got beaten badly every single time, and my defeat got more painful every time, because Haku was growing as well as I was. He never challenged me to a fight, but when I did, I had to put up with his icy blows untill I was practically knocked out."

Omari suddenly gasped for air as she continued crying.

"Omari! Are you okay?!" Kamichi was alarmed, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"No," Omari cried pitifully. "I'll never be okay again!" She collasped on top of him, sobbing, digging her sharp nails into Kamichi's arms as she wept. She just wouldn't calm down. Omari was bawling as she pinched Kamichi in anger and sorrow. Kamichi writhed in pain, then eventually squirmed away from her.

Slicer walked into the room, as gloomy as ever. "You guys okay in here?" He asked them, looking at Omari with concern.

Kamichi looked unsure and bit his lip.

Slicer took that as a 'yes'. He merely nodded and walked away.

Slicer and Zamu had never been the same since any of their friends' deaths. They were wrecked for life, Kamichi could tell. Kamichi knew that his life was pretty messed up now, too. He really liked Haku, Zabuza, and Tarina. And, when he got older, he had always wanted to challenge Haku to a real fight someday to prove himself strong, maybe even stronger. Now, that would never happen.

Kamichi's teammates didn't know any of them well, maybe Haku and Zabuza, but they didn't see much of the Kingpin Kunais. Kamichi was always off to see them, which made Kamichi the oddball and the loner in Squad 99. Kamichi hadn't even really hung out with his squad or even do a mission ever since Haku and Zabuza were reported dead. The squad understood Kamichi's feelings, so let him have a few days off of the job. Today was the last day that he had off. Kamichi had visited the Kingpin Kunais every day during the little 'vacation', but this was the first time that Omari had unlocked the door to her room.

Kamichi decided to try again. "Is there anything in the world that I could do to make you feel any better? I really hate to see you like this." He said softly to the sniffling lump under Omari's blankets.

"Nooo..." The lump moaned. "There's nothing you can do."

Kamichi lifted the covers from Omari's head. "C'mon, Omari...there has to be something to cheer you up a bit and get your mind off of things. Do you like ice cream?"

Omari started to wail. "Tarina loved ice cream!" She started to punch the wall again in anger. "I should have knocked out Slicer and Zamu for trying to restrain me from that freak, Naruto!"

Kamichi scooched back once more from Omari. "How about...ramen? We could go out to get that."

"Noooo! I hate ramen! It's disgusting!" Omari cried angrily, hurling the blankets to the ground. Then she wailed, "I'm so stupid! I should have killed off Naruto when I had the chance!"

Kamichi remained calm, even though Omari must be crazy to hate ramen. "Um...fine, then. Do you like sushi at all? We could go out for that if you like."

"Tarina loved that, too!" Omari said, shoving Kamichi away. "No! No! No! You're making it worse, Kamichi! What're you trying to do to me!?"

"I'm tryin' to make you calm down!" Kamichi cried. "You're just making me feel bad for trying to help you for once. You've been yelling at me and hitting me and pinching me. Do you want me to start crying?" Kamichi stamped his foot, ready to throw a hissy fit.

"No, I don't want you to start crying."

"Do you want me to just leave you alone right now?" Kamichi asked her, crossing his arms.

"No! Don't you dare leave me alone here!" Omari begged.

Kamichi was stumped. What did Omari want from him? She didn't want to go anywhere to have fun, she didn't want Kamichi to tell her a story, and she didn't want to hear the way Kamichi felt. If Omari just wanted him to stay put in her room and stay silent, that wasn't happening.

"So, you just want me to shut up and stay in here with you screaming, 'Boohoohoo!'? Is that what you want me to do? Because that's just wrong!" Kamichi was outraged, but didn't yell.

Omari was so mad that she wanted to punch him again. He would just start crying, so she couldn't. Her best friend, her beloved, and Zabuza were dead, and Kamichi was being mean. He wasn't even trying that hard, in Omari's point of view. Kamichi was such a pain. She remembered with fury how Kamichi was always making fun of her, messing with Haku and making fun of his dress-sense, and had annoyed Tarina so much, the stupid brat. Omari felt so angry...

Ten seconds later...

"Waaaahh!!" Kamichi cried, falling to the ground with a thud. He began to howl, clutching his bleeding nose and his stomach.

Omari didn't even realize what she had just done at first. When she had figured out what had happened by looking at her blood-covered hands, she gasped. She had severely attacked Kamichi without even realizing it. She was going crazy and she knew it, staying cooped up in her hideout with nothing to do. Maybe it was time to take a load off of her mind for a while.

Omari grabbed Kamichi into a hug. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Kamichi!" She cried fretfully, kissing him on the cheek. "I don't know what came over me all of a sudden. Just...tell me what I did, okay?" She asked him. She had to remind herself that he was just eleven years old and was only trying to help.

Kamichi was still upset, but he recovered quickly. "You mashed me in the face untill I was bleeding and then you slammed me into the ground after you hit me again in the stomach!" He wailed.

"I..I did that?!" Oamri whispered, horrified. She was so starving and in such an unhealthy, delusional state that she didn't even remember what had happened.

Omari felt horrible. Kamichi was just a bit immature sometimes. He wasn't a bad guy. Omari wasn't too crazy about Kamichi's prankish ways, but she would never strike him down like that on purpose. She vowed to never hurt him again.

"Are you okay? Do you forgive me?" Omari asked him nervously. She would have to make it up to him to make poor Kamichi feel better.

"I...I guess so...even though the hug and kiss on the cheek was quite unnessesary." Kamichi said uneasily, dusting himself off and wiping his nose with a tissue.

Omari was very glad that Kamichi was nice enough to forgive her for being so mean. She embraced him once more, laughing lightly when Kamichi tried desperatley to pull away. She was glad that she still had people who truly cared about her and didn't hate her.

"Do you still want to go somewhere to have fun or something? I think that we all need to relax. You can choose where we can go, if you want." Omari offered. She knew that she and her teammates should give Kamichi a break once in a while. Spoiling a little kid like Kamichi always put a smile on Omari's face. When Kamichi was happy for a good, non-devious reason, Omari was happy.

Kamichi wiped off the sad look on his face and hopefully asked, "Can we _please _go to the toy store at the plaza?" He was almost certain that she would say no, as always. It was worth a try, though.

Omari patted him on the head and smiled. "Sure, we will. You can buy whatever you want. And then I'll let you have all the ramen and ice cream that you can eat."

Kamichi was about to cheer, but then again, Omari could just be teasing him. "R-really? You're gonna let me do that?!" His eyes brightened.

"Of course."

"Yippee! Thank you, Omari!" Now it was Kamichi's turn to hug Omari, who just laughed and hugged him back.

_**Three Hours Later...**_

After Omari, and Kamichi returned to the hideout, they were both in a pretty content mood, despite the horrible twist of events that has happened to them over the past two weeks. Luckily, Kamichi hadn't caused any trouble at the mall and had behaved perfectly.

Slicer and Zamu were in their own bedrooms, probably sleeping. Omari and Kamichi returned to Omari's bedroom to talk.

"Thank you, so much, Omari! That was alotta fun." Kamichi said, admiring his new toy airplane.

"Your welcome." Omari said, a bit worn out from such a long day.

"...Omari?" Kamichi suddenly looked nervous. He wanted to ask Omari something important. He knew that if he asked his question, Omari would probably laugh and say no. But, Omari was unpredictable with these things. It was worth a try.

"Yes?" Omari looked at him.

"I...um...I wanted to ask you..." He was blushing now. He had wanted to ask ever since he had met the Kingpin Kunais.

"What is it? You can ask me anything." Omari said softly, urging the kid to spit out whatever he wanted to say.

"Y'know...since you're the leader now and all, I thought I might want to ask you. You promise you wont laugh at me when I ask?"

"I promise."

"Well, I...can I...can I join your squad?" Kamichi blurted. He dreaded the answer. He squeezed his eyes shut and put Omari's bed covers over his head.

"Well..." She was quite suprised. She hadn't been expecting that from a boy like Kamichi. Omari considered this for a moment.

Kamichi was to embarassed to wait. He knew that she would refuse. "Oh, I'm sorry for asking you! Let's forget this ever happened. I really shouldn't have. I...it's okay if I can't. I mean, I still have a squad. I know that you don't want an ammatuer like me in your squad, I-" He started to stammer.

"It's okay, Kamichi. You can join the Kingpin Kunais whenever you're ready."

_"Huh?!?" _Kamichi gasped, throwing the blanket off of his head.

"I said that you could join. We all really like you, and you're strong. I think that you could become a great squad member here." Omari smiled when she saw the look on Kamichi's face.

"Really? Are you serious?! I can join now?!" Kamichi shrieked, overwhelmed.

"Yes."

Kamichi was stunned, then practically burst with happiness. "Oh, wow, thank you, Omari! I've always been admiring your team, and now...I get to be a part of it..." Kamichi's voice trailed off, the look of pure joy in his eyes. Suddenly, those eyes looked a bit watery.

Omari smirked at him. "What, are you gonna cry now?"

"No way! I mean, maybe. I mean...I'm just so happy!" Kamichi cried, hugging Omari as tight as he could.

"That's good to know." Omari nodded, smiling. "You can start tomorrow. Tonight, I want you to get some rest at your hideout and tell Squad 99 what you're gonna be doing. Then, first thing in the morning, you can come here. Bring all of your things."

"WOW! This is gonna be so great! Thank you, Omari! You're really cool!" He whooped, breathless.

"Thanks." Omari smiled. "I hope you had fun tonight. You go get some rest, okay? Now, don't you forget to come by here tomorrow." She said.

"Okay, Omari." Kamichi said respectfully to his new leader. "Bye! Thanks again!" He waved and ran out of the hideout with his toy airplane as quick as a mouse, going to do what Omari had told him.

Omari sighed and got ready for bed. She had done a good thing, letting Kamichi join the Kingpin Kunais. Kamichi would be a good squad member, maybe even become a more mature person than he was now. It would definatley effect Kamichi's life forever.

_Tarina and Haku and Zabuza will be happy when they find out about how much Kamichi's grown, _Was Omari's last thought before drifting off to sleep.

__

_"Huh? Where...where am I...? Am I...dreaming this?" Omari wondered. _

_Omari looked warily at her surroundings. It was pitch black, and the only light was the huge, glowing back-and-purple platform that she was standing on. Where was she?_

_A figure was slowly walking torwards her. Omari could hear faint footsteps behind her coming closer...closer...untill..._

_"Hey, Omari. What's up?"_

_Omari froze in terror. "TARINA?!" _

_She whirled around to see Tarina facing her on the platform. She looked as normal as ever. Omari jumped in her arms, for a moment expecting Tarina to be transparent like any nightmare, but Tarina was solid. It wasn't a bad dream. It was the opportunity to talk. _

_"Tarina...are you angry at me? Are you angry for what I have tried to do, to kill myself and Naruto?" Omari asked Tarina cautiously. "You know, you didn't have to save me. I might have lived."_

_"I'm not mad at you, Omari. What I did was much needed. You would have died. You see, at that moment, I forsaw what would become of you and Naruto. Two heaping piles of blood and bones. The timing was right. I needed to leave the world to save your life.." Tarina told her._

_"I'm...so sorry, Tarina. I should have listened to you the first time.." Omari whimpered._

_"Don't worry about it. What's done is done. I only care about whether you're okay or not. So, I hear that Kamichi's joined the team, huh?" Tarina smiled._

_"Oh, yeah!" Omari just remembered that. "I'm sure that he'll be a great team member. It was kind of cute how the kid actually cried, he was so happy. I really owe it to Kamichi for helping me out when I was in deep depression."_

_"Yeah, he's a pretty cool kid. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot! I invited someone to see you." Tarina said, guesturing to an area of empty space._

_Omari gasped as Haku and Zabuza appeared out of the place where Tarina was pointing. They didn't even look like ghosts. They both looked perfect, as they were when they were on Earth._

_As Zabuza stood next to Tarina and watched Haku and Omari stare at each other in shock. They were both staring, gaping at each other._

_"Haku...?" Omari whispered in disbelief. "Is that...really you?"_

_"Omari...?" Haku was overwhelmed by the sight of his beloved once more. "I thought...I'd never see you again..." Tears formed in his eyes. Tarina had never told him who he would be visiting, after all. He had never expected this._

_Tarina just smiled and shook her head as Omari and Haku ran torwards each other. When they met each other with a giant hug, Omari started to cry in Haku's shoulder, telling him how much she had missed him and that she was sorry that she hadn't begged to come with him._

_Tarina knew that the old Omari was back, no doubt about it. That was what really made her feel good. She missed seeing Omari and being with her and watching her grow little by little. But, she knew that she would just have to wait it out to really see her and would just have to keep watching her from where she was now._

_"I really thought that I would never see you..." Haku told her excitedly. "I'm so glad that you're okay!"_

_"Um, well, I have a question to ask. How'd you guys get here? Is this...for real? I mean, is it really you guys, or..." Omari said, with s twinge of skepticalness in her voice._

_"Of course. We can enter your dreams any time we want to." Tarina said._

_"And Zamu and Slicer?"_

_"Not yet. You see, we're only allowed to visit the people that we love who have found themselves again and are in the process of moving on. Zamu and Slicer hadn't gotten back to their old selves yet. But, they will. Pretty soon, we can go and say hi to them after they've recovered. They have to learn, like you just did, to keep going.." Tarina said._

_"And, not to mention, we payed a little visit to Kamichi, now, too." Haku giggled. "Boy, was he suprised! Even though, his young mind most likely wont remember what happened, like most people."_

_"Oh." Omari said. "But, I have something to tell you all. I don't think that I can make as a good leader as you, Tarina."  
_

_"Sure, you will. You know, at first, whern I had no one left in my family, when I became the leader of you guys, I felt pretty scared, too. But, the job is yours. You're the only one who's good and smart enough. Don't worry, though, Slicer and Zamu will still look out for you." Tarina assured Omari._

_"Okay. I'll try my best," Omari said, her dream feeling slightly hazy now. She knew that their time with her was almost up._

_Tarina sighed. "Hmm...we're running outta time. I wish we could talk to you more, but...believe it or not, it's almost dawn now."_

_Omari was suprised. It hadn't even been ten minutes with Haku, Tarina, and Zabuza yet. But, mornings always came faster than night. The time was different here. Especially if you were in a dream. "Oh. Well, it's been really great visiting with you guys. Can you come back one day to see me again?"_

_"Sure, we will, Omari." Tarina smiled, giving her a giant hug. "All of the time."_

_Omari sood, facing Haku, remembering what she had wanted to tell him for all of these years. Even though it was through dream connection, now was her chance. "Haku..."_

_Haku looked at her, his attention directed completley torwards her, which made Omari even more nervous. "Yes?"_

_Tarina knew that Omari wanted to tell Haku that she loved him, but kept quiet this time. It was Omari's time to tell Haku her true feelings._

_"I...I...um, well, I..." Omari stammered._

_Haku waited for whatever Omari wanted to tell her. Haku sensed that it must be important._

_Omari practically had a nervous breakdown as the platfore was getting a bit fuzzier and her knees shook. Haku and the others were still in clear, plain view, but her mind was a blur as she struggled desperatley for the words to come out._

_"Omari," Haku said softly. "You can tell me anything." Now, he thought that he had an idea of what Omari wanted to tell him so badly._

_Clutching her aching stomach, she suddenly blurted out with what she wanted to tell Haku for eight years. "I love you!" Her knees almost gave out and she instinctively grabbed Haku's arm for support._

_Haku helped her stand, and looked right into her eyes. She loved him? Haku was never sure, but this was overwhelming. Haku had never thought that she had felt this way..._

_"I...I love you, too." Haku whispered to her, just loud enough for her only to hear._

_There was a sudden burst of happiness that exploded from Omari's body. "You do?!" She gasped. "I can't believe that you...love me, too!" She was gushing as Haku just giggled and Tarina just smiled and shook her head. Zabuza was just plain shocked and confused, as always when it came to the strong bond between Haku and Omari._

_Omari felt so good that she thought that she would burst. Her thoughts were a jumbled, nervous mess, and the platform was flickering on and off and gave her a dizzy feeling when she looked down at it, but the strong feeeling in her heart was as clear as day._

_"Omari..." Zabuza scratched his head. "I had no clue that you actually felt this way. As for Haku...I'm kinda shocked, here. I mean, I knew about Omari, sort of, but I thought that Haku was just a good friend."_

_"I'm so happy for you, Omari! You're finally back to your old self again. I knew that this visit would pay off," Tarina laughed with joy as Omari was still blushing and hugging Haku as if she'd never see him again._

_Omari finished the hug, and put her hand to her forehead. "I kinda feel...weird. What's happening to me?" She said slowly, little bubbles of light arising from her body._

_Tarina suddenly remembered. "Oh! Looks like we have to go for now. You're waking up, Omari."_

_"Do...do I have to leave?" Omari asked sadly, looking down._

_"Well, of course you do. Don't worry, Omari, we'll visit you again! You have to go, remember? You don't want to keep Kamichi waiting, do you? You're going to start your career as the Kingpin Kunais leader today."_

_Omari smiled weakly. "I guess I do. You're right. Goodbye, everyone." She waved to Haku, Tarina, and Zabuza._

_"Goodbye, Omari." Zabuza said, waving slightly._

_"See you later," Tarina waved, too, as the dream was getting even hazier and she could almost feel her pillow clutched in her arms back in the real world._

_"Take care, Omari. Don't worry, you'll see us again, really soon. I promise." Haku said and gave her a kiss._

_"G- goodbye..." Omari was frozen. That wasn't a regular kiss on the cheek. It felt, and was, something entirely different. The real thing._

_Before she could think about it much more, the floor underneath her broke apart, and fell into dark emptiness. She didn't fall. She was floating, upwards, torwards a blinding beam of light..._

__

The blinding light turned out to be the sun's rays gleaming through her glass window of the hideout in her room. She was suddenly in be again, stunned, shocked, confusd, and dizzy. That was no regular dream. That was way better, and much more real.

And she had told Haku about the way she felt. That made the heavy weight of guilt lift off of her shoulders. She almost felt like a better person. The happier, upgraded version of Omari. Her self-esteem was suddenly back on track. A cure. The visit was a cure for Omari's internal sickness.

Omari glanced at the clock. "Oh!" She cried, leaping out of bed.

Kamichi! It was exactly 5:45. Kamichi would be there in about fifteen minutes. It was time to rebuild the team. To recover the damages that were done to her life. She had to put those in her memory, but not on her memo.

It was a new beginning.

_**Ahh! Don't You Dare Leave Yet! Go To The Next Chapter After You Review! There's still more!**_

_**Ahh, this chapter was really not my style, but I had to write it. I'm usually into action, and a twinge of mild violence, maybe a bit of blood here and there, but this was a bit mushy. Haku loves Omari, too! Isn't that sweet? Ever since the first chapter, I've been planning to make Haku tell Omari in ghost form. I dunno, I'm just like that. I'm very picky about how the storyline goes. I've got the whole thing planned in my head as I write. Alright, once you are done reading and/or reviewing it, you may turn to the next page!!**_

_**Requested Reviews...**_

_**1. Just curious. Who do you think is the most wisecracking and funny character in the whole series of chapters? You can only pick one if you are going to answer this!!! None of that, "I don't know", or "I can't decide". It makes me go crazy!!**_

_**A. Tarina**_

_**B. Kamichi**_

_**C. Slicer**_

_**2. Answer this honestly. Do you think that the character, Omari is crazy or mean or anything falling under the category of the two?**_

_**3. What do you think is the most rude or funny line from Kamichi?**_

_**A. "Well, it was Haku's wife who started it!" (arguing)**_

_**B. "I have to train with you to get stronger? It's just that, you don't look that strong!" (laughs) **_

_**C. (To Omari) "Whatever, lady." (sarcastic)**_


	13. Aftermath: 4: The Unwelcome Visitor

_**Aftermath: 4: The Unwelcome Visitor...**_

Kamichi was excited.

No, more than excited. He was overwhelmed that he had been accepted on the Kingpin Kunais squad. He could finally leave his old squad. He hadn't liked it, anyway. The people on it were the most annoying people in the world.

He had also recieved a visit from Haku and Zabuza and Tarina last night in his dreams. That was quite a suprise. It was fun, although they had laughed when he started to scream bloody murder when they had first appeared before his eyes. They congratulated him on his progress and of being accepted on the team. Right before they left, Haku said that they would visit Omari next. Kamichi wondered if Omari had a dream similar to his on the purple platform. He also wondered what Omari had told Haku.

He'd worry about that later on when he met with Omari. Now, it was time to get ready to leave for good.

First, he headed off to his room to finish packing. He stuffed only the important things in his pack. A few of his prized possesions, most of his clothes, and all of his weapons.

Kamichi was always forgetful. When it came to names of people that didn't concern him, he almost never remembered. In fact, almost anything that was told to him that didn't involve or concern him specifically he forgot. He didn't even remember the team leader's name, so he just called him "sensei", even though Kamichi's one true sensei would always be Haku. As for the weird little kid that kind of looked like Slicer, he wasn't too bad.

The kid tagged along everywhere with Kamichi, but slightly annoyed Kamichi, too, so every so often Kamichi would let him off with a warning. Kamichi wasn't exactly a bully to Slicer's mini-me, because he never bothered to mess with the lunatic. For one, the guy wasn't competition or anything, and for two, who knows what he was planning to do with that stupid nightstick someday?

And then, there was that twerpy kid that Tarina had once liked so much. Kamichi had only remembered his name, which was Ryo. He just found him as the most annoying little kid on the planet. He wasn't disrespectful, just annoying. Sort of a smart-aleck, and would use his cockiness whenever someone bothered with him. The kid thought he knew everything.

And, the worst part was that the kid touched Kamichi's stuff sometimes. The toys and items that Kamichi banned Ryo and the kid from. For some reason, Ryo just couldn't control himself sometimes. During those particular times, neither could Kamichi. The kid had become frightened of Kamichi after Kamichi had hit him the first time just to mess with him. Kamichi had suprisingly never made Ryo cry, which angered him even more, so he tried harder every time. It was entirley mean, but even _looking _atRyo annoyed Kamichi. Kamichi remembered the last time he had made Ryo scared out of his mind.

During that particular time, Kamichi had caught Ryo playing with his favorite can of slime, which was one of the toys that Kamichi had always kept away from the two boys and the sensei. Only Kamichi could touch Kamichi's things. A simple rule. But, this kid just didn't understand. How could such a quiet, anti-social kid not be observant enough to know that it was Kamichi's stuff he was messing with.

"And, just _what _do you think you're doing with that?" Kamichi had growled, crossing his arms, glaring at Ryo, who looked a bit worried.

"I'm...playing with it. I- I didn't know you were coming, I was going to put it back, Kamichi..." Ryo had said shakily, still clutching the toy in his sweating hands.

"You can't just take my stuff when I'm not here! You know that I'll eventually find out. Gimme it back, you stupid twerp!" Kamichi grabbed for the toy.

Ryo pulled it back, probably one of the boldest moves he had made in three years. "No! It's no fair that we can't use your stuff! And, it's no fair that you get to call me names! I bet you were once a twerp, too, you know!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not a twerp like you now, am I?" Kamichi had shot back.

"No, but in _my_ mind you sure are," Ryo grumbled. The second after he had said it, he knew that he had made a huge mistake. Ryo had forgotten who he was dealing with.

_"What did you just call me?" _Kamichi whipped around, with a dangerous look in his eyes. They glowed with hostility.

"N-n...nothing...I didn't say anything!" Ryo had stammered, trembling. "It was nothing. I-...I wasn't talking about you."

"I swear, I'll break your glasses and your nose, you little creep!" Kamichi snapped, raising his fist.

"Waaaahhh!" Ryo covered his eyes with his hands and fell down onto his bed, trembling. After waiting for five seconds, he had realized that Kamichi hadn't hit him. What was that all about?

Ryo slowly uncovered his eyes. "Why...aren't you hitting me? I thought..."

Kamichi laughed cruelly. "I didn't have to hurt you. The idiotic look on your face was enough satisfaction for me! Twerpy scaredy-cat!" He had roughly snatched the can from Ryo's hand and walked out of the room as if nothing had happened, leaving poor little Ryo shaken and confused.

Kamichi looked back at that moment and sighed. He never wanted to be mean to Ryo. He had nothing personal against little kids. And, He had never gotten the chance to say sorry. Now, Kamichi was leaving. But...there was still time to do something.

He grabbed something out of his drawer and head for Ryo's room.

When Kamichi arrived at the doorway, Ryo saw pure evil and faught the urge to run or at least cower behind the sensei. But, he couldn't. Kamichi was leaving to join a more advanced squad. It was the last day, so Ryo might as well put up with the guy.

"What do _you _want, jerk? Why are you in here? Just to mess with me like you always do?" Ryo snapped at Kamichi the second he walked in. He was going to put up with Kamichi, but he sure wasn't going to go all helpless and let Kamichi say or do what he wanted without Kamichi knowing what Ryo thought of him.

"Why, you little..." Kamichi caught himself before he could say something nasty. "Listen, kid...I'm here to apologize for being mean to you for the past three years."

"Pfft. Whatever. I know that you're lying. You just want the guilt to come off of your shoulders when I say, "Okay, I forgive you." Not happening, Kamichi." Ryo snarled, glaring at Kamichi.

Kamichi had never seen Ryo with so much confidence. "No, that's not the case. I've never really wanted to be mean to you, okay? I'm sorry, and that's all I can tell you. You will be strong someday. Don't let memories of me get in the way, alright? You're not a scaredy-cat." Kamichi said softly, feeling a bit choked up because he had been such a brat over the three years he had spent in the Hidden Mist Village. Not just with Ryo, but with Haku and the Kingpin Kunais as well. His maturity was growing quickly, which left his mind and heart a bit left behind on things. But, in time, his mind would catch up with the changes and he would be changed for good.

"Are you sure that you're not lying? And if you aren't, you're still a jerk, and I'll never forget that." Ryo said, his voice calm, yet accusing.

"I...I know." Kamichi whispered. "I was so immature, but I'm growing up now. I'll change. You'll see. What goes around, comes around. I'll be getting picked on alot at my new squad. I know it, because I'll be the youngest member there. I'm learning." Kamichi said.

"Okay, then. I'll...I'll trust you to get better. I'm sure that you'll be better on the inside and the outside! And, when you come and visit me someday, I'll see a whole new person, right?" Ryo said hopefully, understanding that Kamichi was truly sorry for how he had acted for so long. Ryo could tell that he was secretly saying sorry not only to Ryo, but to Haku and Tarina and everyone else he had met over time.

"Right." Kamichi nodded, perking up once more. He suddenly remembered what he had brought with him. He pulled out the can of fake goo that he had loved making slime-balls out of and hurling at people. The toy that Ryo had always wanted to tinker with. He placed it in Ryo's hands.

"Wha...?" Ryo was shocked. "You're...giving this...to me?! But..."

"Keep it, kid," Kamichi said. "I wont be needing it any longer. I'm grown up now."

"Wow. Thanks, Kamichi. I knew that you weren't _all_ bad." Ryo said gratefully, pushing his glasses more against his face.

Kamichi just laughed and patted Ryo on the head as he stood up and finished getting ready for his new journey.

_**Ten Minutes Later...**_

Kamichi was almost there. Steps away from being at his new hideout.

Kamichi was frightened and excited and proud all at the same time. He knew that these were his best friends he was dealing with. It's not like he didn't know Omari. But...It was just that tiny little nervous feeling he got whenever he was about to do somehting important that would change his life forever. It was pretty nerve-racking.

And...life would never be the same without Haku or Tarina or Zabuza. They had always liked him and helped him out, no matter how mean or messed up he acted, they still kept him going. They were his precious people. Some of the only friends that he had. Haku especially. He was Kamichi's teacher, the person that had saved him from a life of failure. Zabuza had looked out for him. Despite his brutish behavior and short temper, he was a teacher, too. And Tarina was the one who always went easy on him. The one who always laughed with him and always had a soft spot for Kamichi. She was nice.

That was what made him nervous. Three of his teachers were gone. Only three of them left. His friends. His saviors. All because of one simple mission. Omari, Zamu, and Slicer were all good teachers, but life would never be the same. Kamichi wondered with worry whether it would stay the same or get worse.

Kamichi paused at the door of the hideout, shifting his pack on his shoulder. He was ready for this. He was reaching for the doorknob when...

"Nervous?" Omari swung open the door before he could even put his hand on the doorknob. "I saw the way you were hesitating. Come on in. There's nothing to be afraid of. We're your friends." She laughed.

Kamichi's knees nearly buckled. "I know, but..."

"C'mon. It's okay. I know that starting over is hard. But you'll survive the first few days. And after that, you'll be used to working with us. Don't worry." Omari gently pulled Kamichi in the hideout and sat him down on a cushiony chair.

After Kamichi was partially situated, Omari went off in her own room to get something. Kamichi was alone with Slicer and Zamu, who were looking at him with interest.

"Whoa. So, you're here, huh?" Slicer said. "I never knew that you'd become one of us. But, we trust Omari. Omari says that she knows you have the guts and the mental strength to join us."

"You really shouldn't be nervous about staying with us from now on. You'll be a great team member. I know it." Zamu said kindly, smiling at Kamichi.

This made Kamichi feel a bit better about being mature enough to join such a grown-up, famous squad. It was almost too much for him at frist, because he had thought that Omari would laugh and say no. But now, he had real confidence. To Kamichi, it almost felt like a giant sleepover that would never end with these guys.

Omari returned from her bedroom with something in her hand behind her back. "Kamichi. As a symbol of you joining us here today, I want to give you this," She said, taking that special something out from behind her and placing it in Kamichi's shaky hands.

"Oh...wow..." Kamichi gasped, clutching the purple bandanna in his hands. This was awesome. It even had their logo printed on it. It was beautiful. He turned torwards Omari, Slicer and Zamu and beamed. "Thank you, so much, you guys! I- I can't believe this! This is so cool! I never believed that this would happen!"

Omari just laughed as Kamichi breathlessly babbled on and on about how grateful and happy he was.

"I swear, I'll be a good teammate! No more whining or pranks or anything, I promise! I'll change and try to do everything right!" Kamichi declared.

"That's okay, Kamichi," Omari giggled. "You don't have to change all of the way or anything. You're the little guy that we know and love. Nothing will ever change that."

_**Seven Hours Later...**_

Kamichi and Omari had formed a special bond with each other ever since Haku, Zabuza and Tarina's deaths. Neither of them knew what it was, but they were now great friends that could say or share whatever they wanted with each other. Somehow, Tarina, Haku, and Zabuza's death had a permanent impact on both of them that bound them together in a sad, yet endless friendship.

Now they were sitting silently at the graves on that same beautiful cliff, Kamichi with his brand new purple bandanna and Omari with her regular blue one. Now, it seemed like just yesterday when Omari ad met Tarina. Just yesterday when they had silently decided to become best friends and planned to stay with each other the rest of their lives. Speaking of which...

"Kamichi." Omari said.

"Hmm?"

"Did you have...a dream last night?" She asked him.

"Technically, humans have many dreams each night and don't even know it," Kamichi said, trying to avoid the subject. "What do you mean?" He knew what Omari was talking about, but it was too awkward and sad. Just thinking about it mad him feel insane. Maybe they were both insane people in their own lost world, helpless after their friends' deaths.

"You know what I mean. Haku and Tarina and Zabuza were there, right?" Omari pressed, eager to talk to someone about it.

"Was it...real?" Kamichi whispered to her. "I mean, it seemed so perfect and real and...dreams aren't like that. You can control and manipulate normal dreams. That wasn't normal. Are we crazy?"

"It was real. Tarina told me herself. She wanted to communicate with us, that's all. We're not crazy, even if it was just our imagination."

"But...I'm too young to get into his spritual stuff, and...none of this should have happened. I...I wish killing that slimeball Naruto would bring them back. But...it'll only mess us up even more." Kamichi said thoughtfully.

"You're right, but...I'm going to fight him again someday. Soon. And it'll be a fight to the death. I'm not letting anyone get away with hurting Haku or Zabuza. Revenge will mess us up...but nothing more could go wrong for me. You're young...you still have hope. But, as for me..." Omari's voice trailed off as she plucked a blade of grass from the ground.

"Huh...?" Kamichi was confused.

Omari chuckled lightly and patted Kamichi on the back. "You'll get it soon. You'll catch on. You see, the same rules or destinations don't apply for all. That would make every human identical to one another if that wasn't true. For me, I...I have to fight." Omari said. "My way of thought has changed over the past few days. Tarina always thought that I had a weird, vivid way of thinking, and now, after she died, it just got even weirder."

"Oh. I see. You're right." Kamichi turned torwards her. "You _do _have a vivid way of thought. How...do you think like that? To somehow see how life works and goes on. How destinies are never the same. How people change. You seem to have a gift to figure that out."

"Hmm...but. then again, everyone's way of thought changes, too. Their perspective. I have my way of thought, you have yours. We humans all find each other's way of thought strange, becuase none are ever the same. Certain rules and rituals may seem good or necessary to some people, but may seem like foolishness to others. That's why it's less necessary for you to fight than my need to fight Naruto." Omari said

Omari was speaking of a very complicated matter. But, somehow, Kamichi knew exactly what it meant. It seemed like Omari was telling him, but he was thinking about this in his point of view. It was a lesson that you taught yourself.

"It's all too strange. I mean, what will happen to us in the future?" Kamichi said. "How would our future lives been different if Tarina and Haku and Zabuza had stayed alive? How would it affect our futures if you did happen to kill Naruto in the first place? I...I just feel a sudden desire to know all of that."

"Everybody in the world feels that way after something important has happened. They wonder what would have happened. That question, no one can answer. The best humans could come up with was predictions in dream books that probably wouldn't even come true." Omari said.

"So...even if we made a sure-fire prediction that most likely would have happened if the past was different...it still wouldn't really happen if the past was changed?" Kamichi was confused. His attention was once fully turned torwards Omari, but now she was confusing him, and there was a sudden, dark chill in the air that unnerved him.

"Maybe. Tarina was always one to think about things like that. When I was little, I thought that she wasn't human sometimes. I mean, she had a human body and a human personality, but I always thought that there was something else..." Omari said.

"Huh?!" Kamichi was lost.

"Sometimes, I woke up to get a glass of water or something, and I always spotted Tarina staring at the moon. I didn't know what it meant. Then after she was done looking at it, she wrote a long entry down in her diary. It's like...she learns things by just thinking and not investigating. It's weird. After a mission or something, she always tries to find out what would happen if she had done something else."

"But, isn't that pointless? Because you can't change the past, and if you found out that you could have done better, that would only make you depressed." Kamichi pointed out.

"No, she wanted to learn from her misakes. That's how Tarina grew up. And when she became a mature adult, she knew many things that Slicer, Zamu, me, or you could never know." Omari said.

"To be honest, I really don't get it. What did the moon have to do with it?"

"I have no idea," Omari smiled. "She's just weird like that. I guess everyone's weird to everyone else in their own way."

"Oh." Kamichi shuddered and zipped up his jacket to just belown his neck.. "It's...so cold now. And...kinda dark. What's happening?"

Omari looked around at the sky. There were no stars. It wasn't even the night sky. Just a gloomy grey color, when the sun was supossed to be setting. The sun looked dusty. "That's weird. I wonder..."

The sky was darker and gloomier than ever. It made Omari and Kamichi shiver uncomfortably.

"It's too cold." Kamichi moaned, huddling against Omari. "Can...can we go soon?"

"That's funny," Omari said suspiciously. "It felt so warm before. What...what's going on here?"

"Maybe it's the weather."

"Well, what kind of weather is this? The clouds aren't over our heads and it's still gloomy. I don't see any clouds, except for the little thin ones way over there," Omari said, pointing at the cloudy ripples in the distant sky.

"It's not cloudy, it's not stormy, it's definitley not sunny...it's not normal. What is it?" Kamichi stood up and gaped at the weird sky.

"I dunno. But, whatever it is, we should get away from it. For all we know, something horrible is about to happen." Omari said quietly, standing up. She began to lead Kamichi away from the site.

Kamichi looked at the ground as Omari gently guided him back torwards their hideout, which was a few blocks away. Kamichi didn't really want to look at the gloominess that had formed around them. It gave him a bad, uncomfortable feeling. It mae him feel hesitant and scared.

Omari halted to a stop and yelped as something suddenly was floating right in front of them. Kamichi slowly looked up to see a bandanna floating in front of their faces, in a position as if someone was wearing it. The bandanna was gray, with the exact same kunai symbol as Omari, Slicer, Zamu, Kamichi, and the one Tarina had once owned.

_"Yaaaaahhh! _What is that?!" Kamichi snapped to attention and jumped back. Omari grabbed him and pulled him back even farther, her eyes widened.

"Oh, no..." Omari whispered, btiting her lip. Could it be...?

"What is it? Get it away from us! Why aren't you getting rid of it?!" Kamichi cried, his knees buckling. He wasn't even sure why he was so scared.

"Why have you come back?" Omari whispered to the bandanna in a frightened, breathless tone, oblivious to Kamichi. "I...thought that you were gone for good..."

"What the-" Kamichi yelped, confused and shocked that Omari wasn't screaming. Did Omari know something that Kamichi didn't? What could the bandanna mean? "What the heck is that thing, Omari?! Why are you talking to a floating bandanna? Who came back?!" He begged to know. The bandanna, and not to mention Omari, was creeping him out.

_"Heh heh heh. You know why I came," _An unfamiliar voice from nowhere jeered. _"There's nothing you can do about me harming Tarina or your precious friends..."_

"You know that it wasn't because she wanted to hurt you," Omari said in a grave tone. "You were pure evil and were hurting other people. What else was there to do?!"

Kamichi was so scared of the voice that he thought he would wet his pants. What was all of this? What in the world was Omari speaking of? That voice sounded so unwelcoming...so bloodthirsty. What was it?

_"Well, now you're gonna see what I can do..." _The horrible voice laughed nastily, which sent a shiver down Kamichi's spine.

Omari was trembling, not speaking to the bandanna anymore, staring into space. Something had suddenly deeply disturbed Omari, and Kamichi couldn't tell what. What was all of this? Was it a ghost? How could anything harm Tarina if she was dead?

The bandanna disappeared from sight, and Omari fell to her knees, gasping. "No, no noooo! How could this happen? I knew it would! No, no, no! Why now?! Why us?! I thought that it was just a lie..."

Kamichi was frightened of Omari, who was going crazy. He knelt next to her, hugging her, hoping that it would make her feel better, whatever she was feeling. "It's okay...don't be scared of...whatever it was. Just tell me what's going on. What's wrong with you? What was that thing?"

"'Don't be scared of it?!' Are you crazy?! Do you even know what that was?!" Omari screeched.

Kamichi shrank back. "...No."

Omari roughly yanked the bewildered Kamichi from the ground, into her arms and carried him while running to the hideout. "This can't be happening! I've got to go tell Slicer and Zamu! NOW!"

_**Ten Minutes Later...**_

"...Hikaru...was...speaking to you?" Slicer whispered in shock. "I...I don't understand. How can that be?"

"I'm sorry for not catching on to your conversation, but...what was all of that back there, Omari? Why was there a floating gray headband? hy were you screaming and carrying me away? Who is Hikaru?"

"Hikaru is...our other teammate. He's dead." Zamu said quietly.

"You mean...there was five of you?!" Kamichi asked in shock. "But, but...did anyone else know about this Hikaru guy?! I thought that there was four of you to begin with! What happened? Why did he say that he wanted to hurt Tarina?" Kamichi was confused. He knew so little, and everyone else knew so much. He hated situations like that. Especially if the subject was mysterious and interesting.

"At one time, there was five of us." Omari explained in a low tone. "Our fifth teammate was named Hikaru. He's a kid, like you. He'd be about thirteen years old now. Hikaru...did horrible things. He was like me, because he let his Kekkei Genkai out of control one day, on purpose. He wouldn't stop it. He was a terrible person, who was bloodthirsty and wanted power."

"What kind of kid is THAT?!" Kamichi cried.

"I don't know. I don't know where he was even born. He was just a Hidden Mist ninja, that's all I know. He killed people mercilessly and liked to make fun and hurt everyone all of the time. We didn't know what was wrong with him."

"But...why did you invite him on the team?" Kamichi was puzzled.

"He needed someone. He needed love. He was kind of nice at first, but then he snapped for some reason after a year and was really mean and angry at us all of the time. He was really creepy." Zamu shuddered.

"Then," Omari said softly. "on the day that he released his Kekkei Genkai, he went crazy. He was destroying everything and everyone surrounding him for no reason. He was deeply angry and disturbed. He would have destroyed himself and us, too when he released his power."

"Destroy you guys?! What happened after that?"

"Tarina had no choice," Slicer whispered.

"No choice to what?" Kamichi begged.

"...She had to kill him with all of her strength. It was a slow and painful death, but it was the only way to save alot of innocent people, and ourselves. Tarina couldn't risk us getting hurt." Omari said.

"Tarina killed him? How'd she do it?!"

"With her prized weapon," Omari told him. "The stone kunai. It's as sharp as a normal kunai, but it's much more powerful and heavier. After it was done, when Hikaru was dying, he grimly vowed his revenge on Tarina and everyone whom she loved. When it was all over, Tarina was upset and sorry that she had to kill Hikaru, so she had disposed of her kunai by burrying it deep into the ground. That's why Tarina had threatened to kill me when I released my Kekkei Genkai. She would have, but her Supernova Laserbeam had used up her energy, so she had to take her own life to protect innocent people."

"Oh." Kamichi whispered. Tarina was such a good person. Protecting others with her life. The people who were precious to her. Kind of like Haku. Now, the mystery was coming together. But...there was still a missing peice to the big puzzle. "But...now what will happen to Tarina? What will Hikaru do?"

"He...can completley destroy her, Zabuza, and Haku. They could be held captive right now," Slicer said grimly. "It will literally crush their spirits. He can trap them...in some sort of void for eternity. He had been able to do that on earth, I'm certain that he'l do it if we don't go over there and fight him."

"No! I can't let that happen!" Omari yelped. "He can't hurt Tarina! Or Haku! He told me that he loves me! He saved me in the past, now I've gotta save him, no matter what it takes! We've got to go to that world, or else their spirits will cease to exist!"

"I, uh, don't mean to burst your bubbles or anything, but...there's no way for us to get to that world. Even if we slept, we'd never be able to dream to that world because Tarina said that she took us there from our dreams. If she's being captured or whatever, then us getting there is totally out of our hands." Kamichi pointed out.

"Then we'll just have tt find a way, then!" Omari declared. "If we don't succeed in this, then Hikaru is most likely to come and kill us next! Even you, Kamichi!"

"Why is he after me?" Kamichi whimpered.

"Because! You're on the team now, remember? You have to fight, or else we'll lose for sure! We need everyone!" Omari cried.

"Um...okay. But...how are we going to get there? That's all I need to know. You guys seem to know alot more than I do, so I need to catch up here." Kamichi said.

"I think I know how to get there and save them," Omari whispered in a hushed tone.

"You do?! How?!" Zamu and Kamichi asked in unison.

"Yeah, Omari," Slicer nodded torwards her, "I think I do, too! We can just ask..."

"Right!" Omari said with finality. Then she turned to her other two puzzled teammates. "Okay, guys. Slicer and I know what to do, so you guys can relax. We'll be back in a jiffy, I promise! Now, Zamu and Kamichi, I want you to-"

"Hold the phone!" Zamu cried. "What about us?! Aren't you gonna tell us what you guys are up to? What's going on here? How are we going to get to the spirit world?!"

"You'll see, Zamu!" Slicer slapped him on the back and stood up from his chair. "Me and Omari will be back, don't you worry. We have to hurry. Just...watch a movie with Kamichi or something untill we get back."

"Um..."

"Wait, one more thing, Zamu and Kamichi." Omari said, throwing her jacket on in a hurry. "You have to get ready."

"Ready?" Kamichi cried. "Why? What? Where are you guys going? Why can't we come? I'm scared to be here without you! What if Hikaru's ghost comes and eats my brains or something?!"

"He wont. It'll be okay. Just get ready for a normal mission, alright? You gotta be ready by the time we get back. Get armed with all of your best weapons and stuff, and we'll be back before you know it." Omari gave Kamichi a quick hug goodbye and ran out of the door.

"Slicer! You can't just...isn't it too late for us to be out?! Where are you-" Zamu was stammering.

Slicer grabbed his sword and stepped into the hall doorway, ready to leave. "We're going to see an old friend. Just...stay here with Kamichi and be ready, okay? We gotta hurry. Bye!" With that, Slicer was gone, off to catch up with Omari.

Zamu and Kamichi just stared at each other. They both shrugged.

"I, um...guess we better get ready..." Zamu stated weakly. "I don't know what they're up to, so don't ask me. Slicer and Omari known each other longer than they've known me, so...they've must have seen stuff together. Even though Slicer and I are best friends, he's been on the team longer and knows more than me. Go figure. Probably some childhood friend that they want to visit."

"Right." Kamichi said. "We'd better do what they told us to do. Omari said that they'll be back in a jiffy, so..." He started off to pack his things into his bag, slowly and nervously.

"Hmm..." Zamu scratched his head, shrugged once more, and began to pack his things, too. Both of them had the same feeling. Something weird was definitley about to happen in a matter of hours.

_**Turn To The Next Chapter!! I Warn You: It Gets Pretty Weird (AND ACTION-Y!)**_

_**But, Before You Do...**_

_**What did you think of this one?! Kind of weird, huh? Having a new ghostly character is hard to adjust to and all. There's more chapters to come! It'll be exciting, I promise you that. I'm not exactly sure how many chapters there will be in the end. The result amount of chapters might just be in the low twenties. If you've come this far, I congratulate you!! You are a brave reader! To put up with my weird, slightly gory style of writing, and I thank you for reading my Haku-related choronicles!**_

_**Requested Reviews...**_

_**1. I know I asked this before, but I HAVE to ask it again: In your opinion, is Omari considered the "crazy lady" of the Kingpin Kunais? I gotta know!!**_

_**2. After the dramatic series comes to it's final chapter, there will eventually be four short "Haku Choronicles Extra!" stories coming out, featuring all of the characters, just cute little stories reguarding their strong bonds with each other. Nothing super-serious. Once again, like the Aftermath, I have to ask this question. Should the Extras stay in this particular story, or go somewhere else on Fanfiction, or not exist at all? Should it go on a different site, such as my own? Your vote!**_

__

_**P.S. The fourth story of the Extras Series marks the end of "First Impressions: Haku's Training Days". But we're not there yet!! That's like, two weeks away, so stick around if you can. But, just so I can give you something to think about, I'll give you the titles to the extra series. No spoilers are here! The titles of the future side-series are pretty basic. It's just short stories based on certain connections and friendships forming in between the chapters.**_

_**Extra Title 1: Tarina and Omari**_

_**Extra Title 2: Haku and Zabuza**_

_**Extra Title 3: Slicer and Zamu**_

_**Extra Title 4: Tarina and Kamichi**_


	14. Aftermath: 5: Hikaru's Rage

_**Aftermath: 5: Hikaru's Rage.**_

"Please, Master Atoshi. We really need your help here." Slicer asked the old, wise man that Omari and Slicer had used to go listen to when they were younger. Master Atoshi was the spiritual man of the Hidden Mist, a former great ninja, and he knew things that no one else in the world could ever hope to know. Master Atoshi knew about almost every single soul that has ever lived in the Hidden Mist. That's why Omari and Slicer liked him so much, to hear his fables and tales and learn from them. They hadn't visited him for a while now, but Atoshi was thrilled to have them back.

"So, you kiddies need to get to Tarina's world and save your friends from Hikaru, who is out for revenge?" Master Atoshi asked out of nowhere.

Omari and Slicer were shocked. They hadn't even told the guy about Tarina's death yet. They had just arrived through the doorway less than thirty seconds ago. But, that was Master Atoshi. He always knew things.

"That little rat Hikaru is back, eh? It seems to me like Hikaru's challenged you to a battle. Spirit versus humans, eh?" Master Atoshi scratched his chin. "Well, Omari and Taizo, you are very wise to come to me for help. I know just what to do."

Omari looked anxious, while Slicer grimaced and blushed. Slicer hated how Master Atoshi always used his real name. Slicer had never even told him his real name. Omari spoke up after Master Atoshi stood up and looked around through his cluttered drawer of small trinkets and parts to items that neither Slicer or Omari could recognize.

"What...what is it? I mean, it's pretty, but what is it?" Omari asked, staring at the black-and-purple sparkling crystal that Master Atoshi came up with. The crystal was in a symmetrical form, and it had a silver chain connected to it. A necklace.

Master Atoshi beamed. "It's a teleport crystal!"

"Uh...okay..." Slicer scratched his head. Master Atoshi was wise, but sometimes, Slicer thought that he just might be on the crazy side.

Omari seemed to get it all of a sudden. "Oh, I know! It's the same colors as the platform I was on in that spiritual dream! It'll take us to Tarina and Hikaru's world, I bet!"

"What dream?" Slicer was lost.

"You'll understand it later, Taizo." Master Atoshi said to Slicer, who groaned back. Then he turned back to Omari and put it around her neck. "Yes. This particular mineral is capable of teleporting you to their world. It can not only telelport you there, but it can teleport you to anywhere in hat world. Say, for instance, you were being chased by something, you could use it to teleport away from it."

"Whoa." Omari and Slicer whispered in unison.

"That's not all," Master Atoshi said. "Omari, I'm giving this for you to hang on to. It'll give you a golden Summoning Justu when you need it. Just throw the teleport crystal on the ground when you need the summoning scroll, and it'll appear. You'll know when it is time. Trust me."

"I'll know how? You sure about that?" Omari asked him.

"Yes. When it comes to protecting your friends and fighting the ghostly menace, you'll know how to handle things." Master Atoshi declared. He suddenly pulled out a beautiful sheild for Omari. "And as for this...I think that you know what to do with it." He placed it into Omari's shaky hand.

"Oh...thank you..." Omari whispered, staring at the beautiful metal sheild. It had three pictures in the center of it. A glass kunai, a golden one, and a stone one. Just like the ones that she, Haku, and Tarina had.

Slicer was devestatingly lost. "Where does this guy get this stuff?" He mumbled, shaking his head as he looked at the sheild in wonder.

"I'll do anything when it comes to helping my friends," Master Atoshi let out a jolly laugh. "Just be careful. We don't want you kiddies getting hurt, now, do we, Cocoa?" He scratched his small, brown kitten on the chin, who was resting pleasantly on the arm of his chair.

"Thanks." Omari smiled nervously, her voice shaking as she still stared at the sheild. Master Atoshi and Slicer saw a tear fall from her eyes and land on the sheild.

"You okay?" Slicer looked concerned.

"She's just in very deep thought." Master Atoshi patted Slicer on the back. "She'll be fine. It's a little much to have this much repeonsibility. Very nerve-racking. Especially when the person whom she is fighting is a bloodthirsty, power-hungry, revenge-seeking little coward that will stop at nothing to destroy you all."

Omari and Slicer both shuddered. That statement wasn't much help at all.

"But, as always, I'm sure that you kiddies will pull through. With that new kid Kamichi on the team, you'll be okay." Master Atoshi added.

"Wait a sec...you know about Kamichi? How?" Omari wanted to know.

"I dunno. I just...do." Master Atoshi shrugged, then winked.

Slicer and Omari exchanged significant looks.

"Okay, then. In my point of view, you're all set to go, you guys. It seems to me like Kamichi's getting pretty impatient right about now. And don't worry about the battle, you're well prepared." Master Atoshi glanced at his wristwatch.

Omari and Slicer had just remembered about Kamichi and Zamu, who were probably packed and ready to go. Omari gave him a hug goodbye. "Oh, okay. We'll do our best to help them." She said, still suffering from the nervous ache that was lingering in her stomach.

"I'm sure you will. Don't forget, take care of that teleport crystal."

"Yes. Thank you, very much." Slicer bowed his head. With that, Omari and Slicer headed out of the door as fast as they could, with the cold, hard, rainstorm outside making them run faster.

Master Atoshi sighed as soon as they left. He knew that the Kingpin Kunais would most likely win, but he wasn't so sure about the new recruit. Kamichi. Master Atoshi knew that Kamichi was a very special shinobi. Some ability that any Kekkei Genkai could never include. A power, but he wasn't sure what it was. And he wasn't sure that this Kamichi kid knew how to use it.

It wasn't ignorance. It was just the lack of time on earth to understand true power. Master Atoshi could sense it. He could also sense that all four of them were quite unsure of themelves. That was a disadvantage, for Master Atoshi knew that a guy like Hikaru planned out all of his moves and knew how to use them.

Master Atoshi sighed. It was good to know some, but it wasn't too good to know too much. If you knew too much, you'd overthink things and stress yourself on the future, which never helped anything. He would just have to wait and see.

_**Back At The Hideout...**_

"Where are they?! We have been waiting waaaaayy too long now, Zamu!" Kamichi was getting pretty impatient. "Omari's the one who was in a rush to go to whatever world we were going, and now she's not coming back!" He was pacing the living room floor, while Zamu was waiting quietly on the couch, tense.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon." Zamu said. "Why don't you just sit and relax for a while?"

"No! Are you crazy? I can't relax! I don't know why, but I just can't!"

"Maybe it's because of the way you're making yourself hyper by drinking all of that chocolate milk," Zamu said thoughtfully, pointing at an empty one-quart jug of chocolate milk on a nearby coffee table.

"No, that's not why." Kamichi spoke at a speed a bit too quick for Zamu to understand. "I always do this whenever I get ready for a mission, and I don't get hyper." His pacing was exeeding normal speed, too. He grabbed his second jug and took a long drink of milk.

"Kid, you'll be bouncing off of the walls in a minute. You'll be too hyper to go on that mission. How are you going to fight Hikaru when you'll be throwing up chocolate milk the whole time?" Zamu asked, not making a move to stop Kamichi from making himself sick.

"Noiwont. I'veneverdonethatbefore," Kamichi babbled. "Don'tworryaboutme. It'snotlikedrinkingchocolatemilkwillslowmedownoranything, right?"

"Uh, right..." Zamu looked worried. _C'mon, Omari and Slicer. Where are you guys? I hope that they didn't get into trouble on the way to wherever they were going!_

Just then, Omari and Slicer came bursting through the door, breathless.

Kamichi put his hands on his hips, irritated. "Wherewereyouguysallofthistime? Iwasgoingcrazywaitingforyou!"

"You sound a little...jumpy." Omari gave him a funny look. Then she glanced at the two empty jugs on the table and she groaned. "Oh, Kamichi, did you...?"

"Yup." Kamichi said in one-fifth of a second.

"Uuugh..." Slicer moaned. "Zamu, why did you let him drink all of the chocolate milk? He'll totally screw up when we're in the spirit world because of his stomach."

"The spirit world? Oh, speaking of which, where did you guys go?" Zamu quickly changed the subject. "How are we gonna fight Hikaru and make sure that Tarina, Haku, and Zabuza stay safe?"

"Well, we visited an old friend of ours from quite a while ago." Slicer began. "He gave us-"

"Igottausethebathroom." Kamichi interrupted, raising his hand.

Slicer quickly shoved Kamichi away in a guesture to tell him to hurry, and Kamichi ran off into the hallway. "Our friend, Master Atoshi, gave us a telelport crystal to Tarina's world. He said that it was a challenge from Hikaru. He wants to harm Tarina and any of our other friends. Haku and Zabuza basically fall under that category. He wants to get us, too, you know, for what Tarina did to him and all. I know a teleport thingy sounds crazy, but it's really not. Master Atoshi knows everything."

"Yeah, and in the crystal, there's a summoning scroll. Whenever we need it, we can just toss it on the ground and it'll pop out. He gave me a sheild, too." Omari said quickly, showing Zamu the special crystal and the sheild.

"Whoa. You're lucky that you have a friend like that," Zamu whispered uneasily. It unnerved him that this Master Atoshi guy knew how prepared that they must be. He also knew that it would be the battle of a lifetime.

Just as Slicer was about to respond, Kamichi walked like a civilized human being into the room, now fully recovered. "What'd I miss?"

"Alot of things, Kamichi." Slicer growled, as irritated as ever.

"Sorry." Poor Kamichi looked at the floor.

Omari came to the rescue and put an arm around his shoulder. It was important for a leader to comfort her fellow teammates and not make them feel guilty. Especially the youngest one. She had gotten that rule from Tarina. "It's okay, Kamichi. Don't worry about it. You wouldn't understand it, anyway. To make a long story short, we got a teleport crystal to take us to our destination. I also received a Summoning Jutsu, and a sheild from one of my friends that I went to visit."

"Oh. Okay." Kamichi nodded, grateful for Omari's sympathy.

Omari looked around and spoke with authority, trying her best to sound like Tarina. "Okay, so, we're all ready to go now, right?" She asked the team.

"Yeah. Me and Zamu got our weapons, and I packed your stuff, too," Kamichi said, reaching down and holding up Omari and Slicer's backpacks. Omari and Slicer took their backpacks.

"Thanks, Kamichi." They both said at the same time. Kamichi could be a pain, but he could be one of the most thoughtful kids around sometimes. Omari had forgot about packing hers before she left for Master Atoshi's.

"Okay, now we're really ready," Omari said, taking off the teleport crystal and holding it in the palm of her hand, waiting for something to happen. They were all gathered around the center of the room, with their backpacks and shoes on.

After a few moments of silence, Slicer finally spoke. "How do we turn it on?"

"I...don't know." Omari poked at the crystal in her hand. "Master Atoshi never really told us how to work this thing. Maybe we have to set it on the floor or something to get it going."

Omari gently set the teleport crystal on the ground, careful not to release the Summoning Jutsu. The second she did, it started to glow and tremble.

"Whoa!" Kamichi's eyes widened as the crystal shimmered with bright, vibrant colors in the room. The whole hideout started to tremble.

"I think it's working! It's really working! We're going to save them!" Omari cried with joy as she stood bravely before the crystal, waiting for it to take effect on them. The quake was getting even stronger. More violent. There was a burst of rainbow-colored light in the room, the teleportation beam, and the beam spread torwards the Kingpin Kunais from the crystal...

And with that, they were gone.

_**Meanwhile...**_

_"Tarina!" _Zabuza screeched in horror as Haku was frozen in terror. He whipped to face Hikaru, enraged. "Why are you doing this to us?! What did we do wrong?!"

Hikaru laughed cruelly in Tarina's direction, who was sobbing with pain. A red seal was locked on her forehead, causing painful, shocking waves throughout her body, slowly and painfully destroying her. In a matter of hours, Tarina's spirit would be no more. Her ghostly hands were bloody and handcuffed. The hadncuffs were attached to the steel cage that she was locked in.

Zabuza and Haku stared in fright, desparate to help their friend. They were locked together in a second cage. Hikari said that they'd be terminated in a matter of hours, too, just as soon as Hikaru was finished with Tarina.

After a few more moments of Hikaru staring pleasantly in the suffeirng Tarina's direction, he turned back to Haku and Zabuza. "I bet that you goons didn't know that ghosts can be destroyed too, with a red seal attached to them. Well, now you finally get to witness it. Don't worry, your turn will be coming up soon."

"That's NOT what he asked you, creep!" Haku screamed. "Why are you doing this?! Why are you torturing Tarina to death?! What did she ever do to you?"

"You really want to know what Tarina did to me, huh?! You really want to know?!" Hikaru said with a crazy, murderous look in his eyes. "She betrayed me! Her own teammate!"

"You were a maniac, Hikaru!" Tarina managed to yell. "You snapped within a year of being on the Kingpin Kunais squad! Your Kekkei Gnekai got lose, you wouldn't stop killing people, and you would have killed Slicer, Zamu, and Omari! I had to get rid of you! You were horrible. A threat to not only us, but the whole Hidden Mist Village!"

"That's what rogue ninja are made for! You weren't meant to protect the village! That's what soldiers were for, stupid! You all should have joined the Hidden Mist military if you didn't want to join forces with me." Hikaru said in a dark, angry voice, fixing his gray bandanna.

"Wait..._you _were once on the Kingpin Kunais squad?!" Haku cried in shock. He had just noticed the all-too-familiar kuani symbol on Hikaru's bandanna.

"Yeah, I was!" Hikaru screamed. "Untill _she _killed me," He wagged a finger in Tarina's direction. Haku winced when he heard Hikaru's voice.

"Well, from what I'm getting, you were a power-hungry maniac that killed people without the simplest of reasons that wanted control of the entire Hidden Mist. I would have gotten rid of someone like that, too. What else could she have done?" Zabuza asked.

"Speaking of which..." Hikaru grinned, walking over to the cage that Tarina was in. He reached down through one of the bars and snatched something from her back pocket.

"Heeeeey! You don't have the right to steal Tarina's stuff!" Haku shrieked, pointing at the stone kunai that Hikaru held up triumphantly in his hands.

Hikaru flipped the special kunai in his hands and put it in his pocket. "What does it matter to you goons? She'll be dead in a few hours. Why shoud you care? If I were you, I would think about saving myself."

Neither Haku or Zabuza had anything to say at that point. Tears rolled down their faces. They were desparate to save Tarina, poor Tarina who was being slowly destroyed by those shock waves pumping into her body...

But...now all hope was lost. There was nobody who could save them now.

**_...One Mile Away..._**

"We...we made it!" Omari gasped. "I think we're really in the spirit world! It's amazing!" She looked around at the weird landscape. Kind of exciting and boring at the same time. It was just a huge, endless platform. The platform was black with glowing purple symbols and waves going through it, with a night sky and distant stars. Nothing else. Maybe only ghosts could see the true world around them. The Kingpin Kunais gaped at the new world around them.

"Owowow...my stomach..." Kamichi moaned, clutching his stomach. "It hurts."

"You little idiot!" Slicer growled. "You see what you did now? You're going to start throwing up the second we get to Hikaru!" He was about to smack Kamichi in the back of the head, but Omari restrained him.

"Now what do we do?" Zamu asked the group. "We can't just have a sick kid tagging along with us. If Kamichi doesn't fight and can't defend himself, he'll die!"

"Maybe we could get Nibbles to protect me with his sheild..." Kamichi moaned, sitting on the platform floor now.

"We didn't bring Nibbles!" Slicer wanted to punch Kamichi.

"Well, there's only one thing to do." Omari said calmly.

"What's that?" Kamichi looked up at her.

"Well, Kamichi, you're going to throw up, no doubt about that. I mean, your little body has two full quarts of chocolate milk in it. Why not just get it over with now so we can go on?" Omari shrugged.

"No way! That's gross! I'm not sticking my fingers down my throat! Nuh-uh! Never in a million years!" Kamichi shook his head, crossing his arms.

"Any volunteers?" Omari looked at the rest of the team.

Zamu and Slicer quickly shook their heads, grimacing in Kamichi's direction.

"Why don't we just forget about it!" Kamichi said with finality. "I can just...not think about my stomachache, and maybe it'll go away. How about that? Because I'm not going to throw up on purpose, and I'm not going to have any of you people stick your hands down my throat! It's disgusting!"

Omari and Zamu were without words. Slicer decided to speak up. "Whatever, kid. Just don't cry to us when you have acid chocolate milk coming from your mouth when you're trying to protect yourself and fight!"

"Don't worry about me." Kamichi bravely stood up and walked on with the rest of his team. No wonder Omari had such a hard time with the rest of her team when she was little. The youngest squad member was always treated like a baby. It was very annoying.

The Kingpin Kunais quickened their pace throughout the bizzare world, running torwards their destination. They didn't know where Tarina, Haku, or Zabuza was, but they'd just have to wait and see.

Almost a mile down the endless trail, the group spotted a faint flow in the distance that was giving off powerful waves of electricity into the air. Everyone stopped.

"Wh-what is that?!" Zamu stammered.

"Dunno. But we're never going to find out if we don't go and see." Omari led the group torwards the light. When they reached the source of power, they stopped, horrified.

Tarina was on the ground, wincing, with a horrible red seal stuck to her forehead. She was handcuffed, and ropes tied up her feet so there was no movement. She was trapped in a steel cage. She was breathless, suffering from the seal's destructive power that was sending some type of waves throughout her ghostly body. There was already blood on the platform, for the seal's power was starting to seriously hurt Tarina.

As the group gaped at her in horror, in shock, without words, a nasty voice cam up behind them. "Well, looks like you arrived just on time to see her die, didn't you?" Hikaru asked gleefully.

The voice had spooked them all. The Kingpin Kunais jumped back, scared for their lives.

Omari finally found the courage to speak after a few moments. She clutched the crystal on her necklace, knowing that it was there to protect her and her friends. "No! We didn't come to see her die. We're here to save her." She glanced over to Zabuza and Haku, who occupied the other cage across from Tarinas. "We came to save them, too. They're our friends, and we can't see them suffer like this. Not in human form nor ghost form."

"So, you want to die with them? Okay, then. You four were scheduled for tomorrow, but today will do just fine." Hikaru sent them another cruel smile, which sent a shiver down everyone's spine.

"Omari!" Tarina cried from her prison. "What are you doing? Why are you here?! You can die just as easily in this world as you can back on Earth! How did you even get here?!"

"Master Atoshi gave us the crystal so we could come and save you. Friends protect each other, Tarina. I know I'm way younger and more inexperienced, but we can do this!" Omari said to Tarina, who had tears in her eyes. Haku had tears in his eyes, too. Zabuza was just staring in shock.

"Blah, blah, blah," Hikaru mocked. "That stupid crystal wont do you any good. I swear, I'll destroy you with all of my mi-"

"Owowowowowow!" Kamichi flopped to the ground, clutching his stomach once more. "I can't take this anymore! I shouldn't have drank all of that chocolate milk!"

Hikaru stepped torwards him, boiling mad on the inside, but quite calm on the outside. "You're not much fun to have around, are you, kid?" Hikaru grabbed Kamichi's collar and lifted him up to face him.

Kamichi began to tremble in fear. "Hey!! Let me go!" He screeched frantically.

"Let him go, right now!" Omari screamed, whipping out her icy glass kunai.

"Not a chance," Hikaru said smoothly.

"No, seriously, let me go! I think I'm going to...bllleeehhhh!" Kamichi threw up all over Hikaru's cape.

"Yaaaaahhh! You idiot!" Hikaru screamed. Cursing, he roughly threw poor Kamichi to the ground, who started to cry. "You dirty little rat! You...you threw up all over my silk cape! How dare you! What idiot would hire _you_ onto the Kingpin Kunais squad? You're worthless!" He took off his cape and tossed it aside. He whipped out three senbon and raised them over Kamichi's head.

"Nooooo! Don't kill him! He's just a kid!" Haku screamed out in desparation.

Hikaru smirked and put the senbon back, which suprised all of them. "Fine, then. If you don't want _me _to kill him, then the monsters will!" He made a few strange hand signs and held his bare hand over Kamichi's head, who was trembling and whimpering with fear.

A shower of rainbow dust was coming from Hikaru's hand, alnding gently on Kamichi. After a few seconds, Kamichi began to fade away as soon as Hikaru took his hand away.

"Yaaaaaaaahhhh! What's happening to me?! Please, someone, help me!" Kamichi was screaming at the top of his lungs.

Omari made a grab for him, but he was completley transparent. "Kamichi!" She yelled. Hikaru walked over and struck her, and sent her flying to the cage where Tarina was.

"Kamichi!!" Haku screamed, ramming himself against the steel cage in a desparate move to help. It was no use. He whipped to face Hikaru from his cage, his eyes wild. "I swear, Hikaru, when I get out of here, you're going to die!"

Hikaru turned to him, slightly suprised. "What did you just say?"

"I said that I'll kill you when I get out of here if you don't leave Kamichi alone. He's my student, and I'll do anything to protect him. He's not worthless! He's our friend and we all love him and care about him!" Haku growled.

Hikaru was almost frightened by the murderous look in Haku's eyes. The desparation to save Kamichi. The angry eyes that wanted to get him. But he had to remain calm. Haku was in a cage. He couldn't possiby hurt Hikaru from there. Hikaru smirked at all of them. "Sorry. Wish I could help, but it looks like you're friend is already doomed for eternity."

Five seconds later, Kamichi had disappeared. Everyone screamed with horror.

"Where is he?! What did you do with Kamichi?!" Slicer yelled.

"Don't worry. He's not dead. Not yet. He's just warped to another world to be devoured by beasts, that's all." Hikaru giggled with joy.

"Waaaahh!" Everyone cried, except for Haku.

Haku just stood there, glaring at Hikaru, swearing that he would get his revenge. _And yet, I wouldn't worry too much about Kamichi. In a world like that, he'll be fine. He can fight off the monsters...I hope. _Haku sat on his knees in the cage, storing energy for his escape. Zabuza was pretty silent that whole time, probably scared to death that Tarina would be permanently destroyed.

"Now, for the rest of you goons," Hikaru smiled deviously and faced the remaining Kingpin Kunais on the platform. Slicer and Zamu were terrified for themselves and Kamichi. Omari was just plain terrified. She stood up and rejoined her teammates.

"Wh-what are you going to do with us?" Zamu asked shakily.

"What do you think?" Hikaru put his hands on his hips. "After you've betrayed and destroyed me, then come to challenge me after I try to finish my business?"

"Well, what do you think we're going to do after you've tried to hurt our friends and made Kamichi warp to some other world?" Omari said back to him, stepping forward.

"Nooo...don't...do...it...Omari..." Tarina managed to squeak out, wincing in pain all the while. "You'll...only...get...yourself...killed..."

"Sorry, Tarina." Omari growled. "But we're busting you guys out of here, whether you like it or not. I can't let you die like this. You don't deserve to be hurt by this creep. We're going to defeat him, no matter what it takes."

_**Don't Worry! Kamichi's Not Dead! Turn To The Next Chapter!!**_

_**Did you enjoy this chapter? I didn't love this one in particular, but I couldn't include the fight in this chapter because it wouldn't be good to print out because it would be so long. I mean, Chapter 11 took twelve pages when I printed it out, so think of how long this would be with the next turn of events added on! Chapter 14 will be much more action-filled, so don't worry. Kamichi's not dead, either. I'm not crazy enough to kill off Kamichi (although I was crazy enough to kill off Tarina)! No, Kamichi must find a way to escape from the new, horrible world that he's been teleported to in the next chapter. The next chapter will be long, so prepare yourself!!!**_

_**Requested Reviews...**_

_**If you want to review this particular chapter, then you can answer the following question in your review...**_

_**1. What was the moral of the story in this chapter? (pick the best answer! PLEASE answer this!!)**_

_**A. Don't interrupt Hikaru while he's announcing his final vengence to his victims.**_

_**B. Never lock Haku in a steel cage.**_

_**C. Never drink two quarts of chocolate milk and pace all over a living room before an important mission.**_

_**D. Always back away from ghosts that want to sprinkle rainbow dust all over you.**_

_**P.S...Hahahahah! Slicer's real name is revealed! Thank you, Master Atoshi!!!**_


	15. Aftermath: 6: Hikaru VS Omari Part 1

_**Aftermath: 6: Omari VS. Hikaru: Part 1.**_

"So...what's the plan?" Zamu whispered to Omari after Hikaru was just smiling at them, ready for a fight.

"I dunno. We just have to see what this guy has up his sleeve first! Then we'll figure it out," Omari said with determination.

"Well, I'd sure like to know what's up _his _sleeve." Slicer pointed at Haku, who was on his knees, hands together in an unfamiliar sign, motionless. "What's he planning to do?"

"He's probably trying to bust out of there so he can help us," Zamu said.

"You guys, we can't worry about that now. When he's out, he's out. For now, we just have to focus on Hikaru." Omari looked at Hikaru furtively.

Everyone nodded, and watched with worry as Hikaru flashed them another big, innocent smile. "What's the hold up? I thought you goons would be all over me with your stupid, worthless jutsus already. Standing there isn't going to help your friend, so...if you're not gonna move, then I will."

Hikaru whipped out a black scroll and shouted, "Summoning Jutsu!" He opened the long scroll, put his bloodprint on it with his thumb, and slammed it on the ground.

Everyone stared at the trembling scroll with horror, wondering what kind of monster could be in there. Even the scroll itself looked scary. Suddenly, the scroll exploded open, revealing the menacing creatures inside. The Kingpin Kunais (including Tarina), Zabuza, and even Haku gaped up at the summoned creatures...

"Wh-what- what are those?" Zamu giggled nervously, backing up a few steps. The three creatures were at least fifteen feet tall each. They were like shadows with horns, with yellow pericing eyes and a giant mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. The shadow creatures glared at their three victims, but were grinning all the while.

"Those," Hikaru said matter-of-factly, "are my little friends, Zamu. We haven't had guests in a long time, you see. I'm sure that they're happy to finally come out and play..." He cackled, enjoying the looks on his enimies faces. But...for some reason, he wasn't enjoying it as much now. He almost felt...sorry for all of them. He decided that it was nothing. The feeling of sorrow always went away after a few seconds.

"I'm guessing they're...carnivorous, right?" Omari asked shakily in a tiny voice, backing away from the first one, who was looking at her with a strange hunger in it's eyes.

"Oh, yeah." Hikaru grinned. "If you let them catch you, it'll be over in about three seconds. Sorry I have to do this to you, but hey, you all asked for it. If anyone needs me, I'll be standing back here, enjoying the show."

"Now, what's the plan? We saw what was up his sleeve, so..." Slicer squeaked out to Omari.

"I don't know!" Omari yelled. "Just, run!" She screamed as one of the shadow creatures slashed at her with a claw, in a move meant to decapitate her. Omari jumped out of the way just in time, falling beside the huge hand. She took out her icicle kunai and stabbed the monster's hand. Gooey, green, acid liquid came out of it's hand. The shadow monster just laughed in a horrible, dark tone of voice that was pure evil. The liquid oozed onto Omari's hand, and it burned.

Omari yanked her hand away, wiping it on the ground. She quickly stood up and backed away from it. She watched with horror when she saw the cut in the shadow creature's hand had healed in an instant. They were practically indestructable.

Tarina screamed out to her. "Omari! Be careful! The only way you can kill them is to swiftly drive something through one of their vital organs and through the other side before they have a chance to heal. With something sharp. And big! C'mon, I know that you can do this, Omari!" She yelled. She was still enduring the serious pain from the seal. The waves were getting stronger, weakening her, storing up into her body. She'd explode if they didn't defeat Hikaru and get rid of the seal in about ninety minutes.

"But...but...we don't have anything that's big enough to go through it's chest or anything. My kunai is barely big enough to even lay a scratch on it!" Omari cried. She yelped when she saw Zamu get kicked in the stomach and sent flying five feet by one of the monsters.

"And our Kekkei Genkais wont do us any good here," Slicer shouted back, swinging his sword at a monster and missing while Hikaru was screaming with laughter. Then, he got a bright idea . "Omari, throw your crystal on the ground!"

"Huh?!" Omari was dumbfounded.

"The summoning scroll, remember? Something could be in there that we can use! It's worth a try!" Slicer screamed desparatley, as one of the shadows scratched his arm with it's horrible claws.

"Oh, please, let this work out for us..." Omari snapped off her necklace and dropped it on the floor, squuezing her eyes shut. She expected something mind-boggling to happen fo some reason, but a mere small, golden scroll popped out of the crystal in a puff of smoke and landed in her hand.

While Omari picked up the crystal and started to stare at the scroll with wonder, Zamu screeched, "What the heck are you doing?! This is no time to ponder! Just get it over with and get rid of these things!"

"Right." Omari whispered, then quickly opened the scroll. She bit her thumb, signed it in blood, and slammed it on the ground, pretending that she was summoning any other animal, like Nibbles. "Summoning Jutsu!"

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"Waah-haahh!" Kamichi screamed. "Nooo! Don't hurt me! I'm sorry for throwing up on your boss! Just let me go!" He pleaded to the many hideous shadow-like creatures that were surrounding him in the scary-looking, dark landscape. They were looming before him, giant claws at the ready.

"Why is it that we should have mercy upon a foolish human like you? Only Hikaru is the one worthy of commanding us. What makes you so special that we can just let you roam free of our domain?" The lead monster asked.

"I dunno! I-I'm just a little kid! Shouldn't you be nice to little kids like me?!" Kamichi sobbed.

"'Little kids'? What is this that you speak of?" The shadow-monster asked him with great curiostity and suspision.

"Forget it! Just don't eat me, okay?!" Kamichi cried.

"I apologize, but we must obey our master." The monster replied smoothly. "Now-"

"Wait!" Kamichi cried. He had another idea. "I...know that you guys aren't as...hideous, ugly, and ferocious as you look now. I mean, isn't there something that you guys want? Besides my guts?"

"State what you mean, human."

"You guys...you're not all bad, right?" Kamichi asked hopefully. "Maybe we can work out a deal. Like, for instance-"

"Silence! This conversation has no meaning. You are a mere, puny human that is not even finished developing. You are nothing. Meaningless." The lead shadow monster growled. "We must obey our master. Prepare to die."

"Waaah! Nooo!" Kamichi screamed at the top of his lungs. _I can't fight these guys! They'll just bounce back every jutsu I have and crush me into bits! I'm outnumbered!_

''Destroy him!" The lead monster screeched. With that, all of the monsters charged. Kamichi yelped and went in between one of the monster's legs to get behind all of them and get out of the circle that had formed around him.

"Water Gun Jutsu!" Kamichi called out, and sprayed the entire area with a ultra-powerful water gun from his mouth, flooding the entire place with water. Over the years since he had become a ninja, he had switched around his original Water Gun Jutsu. The giant waves were flowing over the monsters' heads.

As soon as the waves had died down after thirty seconds, Kamichi stood, now facing a pack of soaking-wet, angry monsters.

"Foolish human!" One of the monsters cackled, slapping his hand down torwards Kamichi, in a move meant to squish and kill him. Kamichi dodged out of the way just in time. Kamichi took out some of his senbon and shot them all at the monster's face. The monster smacked them away, grinning all the while.

"Uh-oh." Kamichi gulped. That didn't work. It was time for Plan B.

"Earth Style: Boulder Explosion Jutsu!" He yelled, making a few quick hand signs. He stared at the ground, waiting for the red-hot rocks to come crashing through the ground, exploding as they reached their height...

"Oops."

"What is it, human?" The lead monster grinned gleefully. "Have you forgotten that you're not on Earth anymore? You forgot that there is no rocks in this world? You're as ignorant as you look."

"Aaaugh! I can't believe that all of my jutsus don't work here!" Kamichi cursed under his breath. "This is unbelievable!"

"Hahaha!" The shadow monster laughed as he slashed Kamichi across the stomach. The monster was intending to slice him in half, but Kamichi was crouched down in a defense, so it didn't go through his body. He didn't take too much damage.

"Oww..." Kamichi was bawling, clutching his bleeding stomach. Kamichi had been told throughout his life that he was one of the most sensitive ninja in the Land Of Water. If he got even one scratch, it was basically over.

"Now, it's over!" The lead ninja shouted with glee, with cheers from his comrades. He grabbed Kamichi with a huge paw and lifted him in the air. Kamichi was crying the entire time.

_I can't believe that I'm going to die..._Kamichi thought, sniffling, eyes blurring. _I thought that I would get to help my friends...my teachers... _Bit then, Kamichi rememberd something. Something important. _No. I can't die like this. I'm a Kingpin Kunai member. I have to help my teammates and my friends. If I can't survive one mission on the squad, then I've failed. I have to fight back..._

_**...Back In The Spirit World...**_

Omari reached out at the creature cautiously, not knowing what to do. It was pretty small. Probably just large enough for only Omari to ride on it. The summoned creature sort of resembled a mix between a bull and a dragon. It had four strange horns on it's head, with medium-sized, slightly drooping ears of a bull's. It had dragon's wings, a dragon's face, scaly skin, yet a tail that reminded her of a bull.

"Uh...here, boy. Here, Mr. Dragon Guy." Omari motioned for the suspicious creature to come closer to her. She stepped closer, holding her hand out, waiting for the animal to sniff it and trust her. She had to hurry before the shandow monsters across from her came over to swallow them up.

The dragon looked up at her and stared for a moment. Then, his ears flattened, and he hissed in Omari's directon. Clearly agressive. Omari yanked her hand away, frightened. If mean squirrels horrified her, then why wouldn't an angry dragon? But she had to be brave. Even if she lost a hand or two.

"Um...Dragon, we really need your help here, okay?" Omari began. "We're being chased by these evil shadow monsters, and the only way to do so is to drive right through one if their vital organs with something sharp so they have no time to heal. And...I think that your horns can help me. So, if I could just climb on your back..." Omari put her hand near the dragon's back, ready to hitch a ride. The dragon snapped at her hand, sinking it's teeth into the side of it, just missing her pinkie.

Omari gasped and yanked her bloody, messy hand away. She was lucky she still had her five fingers attached to it. That surely wouldn't have helped the situation. She stared at the deep wound, grimacing. She had to get over it and keep trying.

"O.K, Mister Dragon. I'm not playing games here. I need to get on your back and save my friends! I'm not trying to abuse your ability, so just...PLEASE! You have to help us with this and kill those things!" Omari tried to get on the dragon's back once more, but the dragon headbutted her in the chest, throwing her back a few feet.

Omari ignored her heaving chest and her pulsating hand and faced the creature once again. "These are my friends I need to save, you stupid animal! Even my best jutsus wont work here! I love my friends...they are the only people I have. Pleasse, just..." She instantly started to weep. "Just...please...help me. I'll do whatever it takes."

The dragon considered a moment, looking at the pure tears of love from Omari that had fallen to the platform. They had actually bored a hole in the platform of hatred that Hikaru was controlling. This girl was something else. If it had known what a great love for her comrades she had, it wouldn't have bitten her. But...now, it was time to help the girl. Even if it was the cost of his own life. He couldn't bear to see a person like Omari get shot down like this.

The dragon hobbled over to her on it's four legs, and kneeled before her so she wouldn't have to struggle. An invitation to ride. Omari looked at the dragon, stunned. First, it wanted to snap her hand off and bore a hole through her, and now it wanted to help?

Master Atoshi raised some strange animals. That was all Omari could think at the moment, because her mind was spinning wildly with terror and excitement. It was almost thrilling. But she couldn't focus on that now. She thanked the dragon in a whisper, and hopped onto the dragon, taking out her gleaming sheild.

The dragon instantly flew, smoothly yet swiftly gliding along the air towards the three shadow monsters, who had all joined together in a semicircle, ready for an attack.

"Okay. What we need to do is to drive ourselves right through the middle of each monster. That should get rid of them. They'll be really hurt and wont have time to heal before their deaths. Now, just bear with me for a moment..." Omari removed her hands from the dragon's neck but tightened her grip on the dragon with her feet so she wouldn't fall off. She put her hands together in a sign and yelled, "Water Clone Jutsu!"

Two more Omaris and two more dragons appeared from Omari, dividing heaps of chakra into the four new beings. Omari felt a bit weak now, but she had to keep going. The clones were there to help her.

"Okay...GO!" The Omaris yelled, each one pointing at a different monster. As the dragon bolted forward at lightning speed, Omari struggled to hold on with her good hand and hang on to the sheild with her slippery, still pulsating wounded one. Tarina watched in worry and admiration. If Omari could kill the monsters, and Haku could make a break in time to help, they could actually win this.

"Nooo! You stupid, stupid goons! Why are you just standing there?! Attack Omari! Now!!" Hikaru screeched at the top of his lungs, in a pure outrage of Omari's bravery.

The three monsters nodded slightly, roared, and held their hands out. The monster's plan was to smash the Omaris in between their huge hands when they came along.

"Omari! Look out!" Slicer screamed, pointing to the shadow monsters, who had their hands at the ready for a good smashing.

"Keep changing your direction!" The Omaris whispered loudly into the dragons ears. The dragon instantly obeyed, and Omari actually felt stronger than before. The dragons zigzagged across the platform, fast, too fast for the the monsters' eyes to follow. Omari struggled even more to hang on. She took out her icicle kunai once more and held it firmly, ready for the final attack.

As the dragons reached the monsters, the monsters wildly slashed with their giant claws at the dragon, slashing each one's side. The dragon clones disappeared in a puff of smoke. The real dragon flipped and stumbled in mid-air, and Omari cried out as she desparatley held on. The hurt dragon fially regained it's balance.

The three monsters slashed at the dragon and Omari again at the exact same time. Omari held the sheild over she and the dragon and felt the violent impact the horrible claws had on the vibrating metal sheild. She had a slight scratch on her cheek, but that didn't matter now. She had to win this.

"Okay! Now! Full speed ahead! Get the one in the middle!" Omari screamed as the dragon charged, faster than even Omari's eyes could follow. Everything was a blur, but Omari still held the kunai firmly, ready to strike...

"Yaaaaahh!" Omari screamed as the sharp dragon's horns and her kunai entered the monsters body, along with herself and the dragon. The monster was screaming, the acid gushing from it's body, while the dragon and Omari were trapped in the middle of the burning acid inside of the tortured and dying creature.

"We have to keep...going! We have to! Keep flying! We're going straight through this thing!" Omari was screaming, her skin burning even more now and the dragon was kicking and flapping as fast and as hard as possible to get out of the body. "You and I will decintegrate if we don't get outta here soon!" She stabbed wildly with the kunai, using heaps of chakra flowing to the veins in her arms.

Omari cried out as she and the dragon suddenly escaped from the monster's body, shooting out of it like a spitball. The shadow monster exploded into burning, toxic acid as they burst through it's back.

Omari and the dragon would have smashed to the ground. Would have, but suddenly, Omari whispered, "Shadow Blend Jutsu!" and they disappeared into the platform ground without anyone knowing it. Everyone was still stunned from the shock wave that the exploded monster had on the environment.

Hikaru was gaping, staring off into space while everyone else wildly looked around for Omari. "What happened to her?!" Zamu gasped. "She just...disappeared! Do you think she's-..."

Just then, right under the two remaining shadow monsters' noses, Omari and the dragon popped up from the ground once again. And this time, Omari was able to create one last clone pair with her chakra and charge at the last two monsters, with the dragon using all of the speed that he had left.

The two dragons and Omari smashed into the monsters in unison, struggling as hard as they could to get out before the burning acid took effect on their skin and start breaking their bodies down.

The real Omari screamed and pushed inside of her monster, with the dragon almost out of energy. He had burst through the body a very strong, muscular, virtual animal, and ws still wounded from the scratch.

Omari focused on her energy from her Kekkei Genkai. The evil energy that had helped destroy Tarina. The bad energy. She needed it, though. Now was the time. She was almost out of chakra, anyway. There was nothing left to do.

As Omari tried to break through the monster with all of her heart, trying to ignore the pain that the monster's inside liquid was giving her, she felt her body glow green once more andmuch stronger chakra was stored into her body, and not too much this time. She pushed and stabbed with the icicle kunai as hard as she could, using the last of her strength...

_BAM! _The two Omaris and the two dragons burst once more through the monsters' bodies, in an explosion bigger than the first, helped by Omari's sudden switch of chakra. The two monsters didn't even have time to scream as they were utterly destroyed by Omari, ever to be used by Hikaru ever again.

The Omari clone and the dragon clone disappeared as they hit the ground. The real pair skidded down to the platform, covered in goo and a bit of blood. They were exausted. Suddenly, the dragon started to fade away. It was all out of chakra and energy. It was time for it to go back into the scroll.

Omari turned and faced the dragon, even though it hurt. "Th-thank you...I couldn't have done it without your help. I'll... see you...around..." She smiled weakly.

The dragon nodded with the last of it's energy and finally disappared in a loud puff of smoke. There was silence, and everyone was staring in shock at Omari. Finally, after about five seconds, Haku broke the silence. "You did it, Omari!" Haku screamed with joy, tears in his eyes. "You got rid of the monsters!"

"Omari shakily stood once more, wiping goo off of her pants. "I...I did, didn't I?" Omari whispered breathlessly. Tarina would have cheered her on, but she was too weak to say anything. Too weak to even sit up. Omari knew that her battle wasn't over yet.

Hikaru finally found the courage to speak. "You...you...idiot! You destroyed my henchmen! How dare you do such a thing! You monster!" He pointed menacingly at his former comrade.

"You're the monster here." Omari said calmly. She then turned to look at Slicer and Zamu, who were close together, ready for battle. "You guys have had enough. You can relax. I want to fight Hikaru himself. If he wants ti kill Tarina, he's going to have to fight me, and only me. she's my best friend and I wont let anything happen to her. That goes for Zabuza and Haku, too."

Hikaru stood there, without words, not knowing how to respond. But Omari wasn't finished yet.

"And then," Omari smiled. "If Haku gets outta his cage before I totally knock you out for hurting my friends, he can do the honors of completley destroying you. I know he's been dying to get you ever since you whisked Kamichi away to who-knows-where."

Hikaru gulped, remembering what Haku had said to him. Not such a friendly fellow when he was mad. Hikaru knew that he had to win this battle, or else he would get stomped in the dirt by the bunch of people who now hated him. He didn't want to be hated ever since he was very small, but he never knew how to control his bad thoughts and actions. Now, he would pay the consequenses if he didn't destroy his former feminine comrade and crush. He didn't want to, but...

"Fine, then. Give it all you've got. Even though I doubt that you're going to stand a chance without most of your chakra." Hikaru quickly recovered from his shock and grinned at Omari.

Omari glared at him in disgust. Hikaru sounded just like how Naruto sounded just about now. It was a minimal chance that she'd let her sick former comrade escape from this situation with his spirit still intact in this world. She looked back at poor Tarina, who was looking as hurt and as miserable as ever. She shook with anger.

"What is it? You nervous about figthing little old me? I was sure that you were pretty confident. But...if you're not up to it, we can just settle this by-" Hikaru started to tease.

"Shut up." Omari growled. "I swear, you're going to pay for what you have done to Tarina. I'm going to get her, Haku, and Zabuza away from your clutches. No matter what it takes. You're finished here."

_**Turn To The Next Chapter!!!**_


	16. Aftermath: 7: Hikaru VS Omari Part 2

_**Aftermath: 7: Omari VS. Hikaru: Part 2.**_

Kamichi landed to the ground, breathless, ready for a super-cool attack that could destroy all of the stupid monsters in one blow. But...the thing was, he didn't have a super-cool attack that could destroy all of the stupid monsters in one blow. He needed one, badly. At times, Kamichi wished that he was like Haku. Even though Kamichi had called Haku uncool many times before, his true powers were awesome.

Haku had a Kekkei Genkai that could just burst from his body anytime he really needed it or was really mad or scared. Kamichi wished that he had something similar to that. He still only had three jutsus. His first and best was the Boulder Explosion Jutsu, which had originated in the Hidden Rock Village. That didn't work. Then, there was the Eavesdropping Jutsu of his, originally from the Hidden Sound, which he had learned while having lessons with the army. That was no good, either. Finally, there was the Water Gun Justu, which was mainly from the Hidden Mist and Hidden Waterfall. That was the worst jutsu of all that he had.

Kamichi had some cool techniques from Haku that had rubbed off on Kamichi, like the tornado spinning thing, where it could be used to repel objects or increase the speed and quantity of his own weapons thrown. Six months ago, while in his old squad, Kamichi had learned to spin so hard that he could actually drill holes into the ground and pop up somewhere else. It was never used in battle, just to scare the pants off of Ryo when he was least expecting it. That could possibly be useful later, but...

Quite a long time ago, the technique he had mastered that was all his own was to create a solid rock armor over his entire body. The rock that he used came from the ground, crept up to Earth, and crawled over his body. The punches and kicks he had were ten times harder with the rock armor around him. This techneque, however, could never be used with an opponent that was as fast as Haku, for the weight of the rock slowed him down a bit. Kamichi was small and swift, and could outrun the monsters easily, but he didn't know this place, and the rock armor wouldn't last him that long because it started to crumble after a while.

It was nearly hopeless. Now, the pack of twisted, bloodthirsty monsters were closing in on him, as angered and as agitated as ever. Kamichi felt less confident than before. He knew that he had to survive and win, but...the surviving part seemed hard as it is. It was nearly impossible to outdo the whole group of monsters.

"You'd better give in now, little human." The lead monster growled, quickly healing the nasty bite that Kamichi had given it in desperation. "I was mad before, now I'm even more angry!" It's voice was rising as he raised a claw.

Kamichi looked wildly around, almost about ready to give in and let the monsters eat him up. Why not? If he tried anything funny, they'd only yell at him like angry old adults and chew him even harder. If he tried to sweet talk his way out and use his cute little boy charm, that wouldn't work either. Even his outrageous sense of humor wouldn't help things now. These guys semed to have no emotions at all. Tactics were useless.

"So, what'll it be?" The lead monster grinned. "You ready to give up yet? Hikaru gave us the demand that every being we kill must have his or her head in his presence so he knows that you are gone from existance."

Kamichi was outraged and disgusted. "That twisted, sick little freak..." He grunted, referring to the jerk who had sent him here in the first place. "I hope Haku rips Hikaru into a million peices and makes you eat what's left of him. He has no right hurting my friends. I hope I get there in time to see Omari and Haku stomp that jerk into the ash..." He was as angry as ever.

"You DARE to insult our leader, you stupid mortal?!" One of the other shadow monsters piped up. "You think that the great Hikaru is no match for this Haku human?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I think." Kamichi shot back. He was only arguing to give him some time to think about his next move in the fight. "Haku is way better than your twisted freak of a leader. In fact, everyone is better than him. And you really wanna know what else I really think he is?" Kamichi smirked.

"What is it, human? What do you think of our leader?" The lead monster challenged, advancing torwards Kamichi threateningly.

Kamichi didn't seem to be disturbed. He went ahead and told the shadow monsters right out loud what he thought of Hikaru without any hesitation. It was what he thought, after all.

_"What did you just call Hikaru?!" _The lead monster screamed at the top of his voice, outraged that a kid like Kamichi would dare to use such language. The monster only knew what the curse word meant because of the way Hikaru always used those type of words.

"I'd really rather not repeat it." Kamichi gave them a sweet, innocent smile. "I'm not really for the whole profanity thing. Besides, you know what I said."

"Rrrooooaaarr!" The shadow monster screamed, slashing at Kamichi with a huge claw. "Prepare to die, human!"

"Heh, heh." Kamichi grinned and dodged out of the way just in time. He stared mockingly at the shadow monsters, still with that big smile on his face. He had an idea. If regular earth could give him armor, then think of the possibilities of other armors! If he could focus his chakra and teach himself how to resist the force of elements, he could use water, wood, or even fire armor.

"What is it now, human? Are you not finished insulting the great Hikaru yet?" The shadow monster growled menacingly.

"Nope. When I get back there, I'll have plenty to say," Kamichi said, putting his hands together in a sign, waiting for his chakra to build up. "But, right now, it's time to try out my new techneque!"

"Oh, really? I doubt that very highly." One of the shadow monsters from the back scoffed. "You didn't lay a scratch on us before when you used even your best jutsu. Why would this new techneque be of any assistance to you?"

"Oh, just a feeling..." Kamichi giggled. Everyone, including himsef watched in amazement as the glowing black-and-purple platform material creeped up Kamichi's body, serving as a sort of a different armor. Soon, after about thirty seconds, Kamichi was covered head to toe with the same midnight-black, metal-like material with glowing purple symbols.

Kamichi couldn't believe that he had managed to pull it off. "Awesome..." He whispered in awe, looking at a octagon-like symbol on his let palm. He looked like a small, virtual video game monster with a kid's face showing through the armor. Even his face had the weird markings on it, as if a code or something. All of the markings looked symmetrical and looked as if they belonged in the right spot.

"What...in the world has he become?!" The lead shadow monster whispered in shock. "To have so much willpower and chakra to create such a strong, full-body armor with this ground ..."

"I'm not as weak as you think." Kamichi laughed triumphantly. "Now, who still wants to fight me?"

"C'mon, boss, take him down! You know that you can do it! Just squish that little sandwich and we'll do the rest." One of the shadow monsters cackled, licking his lips.

Kamichi felt sick inside, but he knew that after all he's been through, he couldn't give up here. He yelped as the lead monster's clawed foot was about to come down on his head. _Great. So...how fast can this thing make me go? _He dodged out of the way three whole seconds before the foot smashed to the ground. He had moved so fast that he couldn't even see it.

"Whoa!" Kamichi breathed as the angry shadow monster whipped around angrily and shot a human-sized blue chakra ball in his direction.

Kamichi looked at his own glowing hands, not knowing what to do. He couldn't throw chakra or energy balls. He was never taught how to do a power-strike. As the chakra ball was about to hit him, Kamichi cried out and held his hands out for defense. He felt the immediate impact of the chakra-energy ball, but no pain came. He was thrown back a few feet, but nothing more, nothing less.

Kamichi stood up again. Maybe, with this armor, he could have some type of new power. Kamichi tried with all of his might, but nothing came from his hand. He tried so hard that he suddenly felt what was left of his chakra tingling in tiny spheres in his body, which was a bad sign. It meant that he was trying way too hard and could harm himself if he didn't loosen up.

The monster screeched like a wild monkey and charged once more. No time to loosen up now. Kamichi jumped out of the way at amazing speed and skidded to a stop, having to dig his fingernails into the ground to slow down. This armor was way too light for him, but Kamichi liked to be small and swift. He preferred it over being powerful and slow, because the smaller, faster ones always sustained more energy. Kamichi briefly rememered how Zabuza used to tell he and Haku that they needed to put on a little more weight, but they had refused in unison. Being fast was good.

The monster suddenly tried to body-slam Kamichi. He threw his huge body in Kamichi's direction, arms forward, trying to catch and smash him at the same time. Kamichi saw the large shadow of the monster on the ground get bigger as it was about to make a landing.

Kamichi cried out and held his hands over his head in desparation. The monster was way too big to dodge in time. Even if he could make it, which was a possibility, then he would be in the other monsters' reach and would be grabbed or smooshed before he had time to think. Kamichi had two choices. Get slammed by the big shadow monster or get snatched by it's smaller toadies.

Kamichi had to do something, but he didn't know what. He had never fought one of these stupid things before. It would take a miracle to get out of this.

_**Back In The Spirit World...**_

The icicle kunai clashed with the stone kunai. Another perfect match.

Omari was breathless, not knowing what to do. What would her next move be? The glassy ice kunai that she held wasn't helping matters. It was only wasting the strength that she had in her arms. If she had no arm strength left, then that would mean no jutsus, which were important. A taijutsu battle with Hikaru was difficult. He was a master. She was a semi-pro, but it still didn't matter.

Omari knew that Hikaru had way more power over her. Over all of them. Nobody was a match for Hikaru, except for Haku, which was only Omari's guess. Haku was still building up energy, planning his big escape. Omari sighed. If her other plans didn't work, then she'd have to use her best jutsu of all, the one that Tarina had taught her to master when she was nine. Tarina could do it, too, only hers was much more powerful. It was a secret jutsu that only she, Tarina, and maybe a few ancestors knew. Maybe it was finally time.

But, to do this, she'd have to be all out of chakra and stamina. Nothing left. Instead of sacraficing chakra, it was blood that she had to sacrafice. The jutsu drained her system by forty-nine percent. The other fifty-one percent was just enough to keep her alive. Tarina had always told her to never use it, unless she was battling a Kage or someone as advanced as that. Tarina also had said that a younger girl such as her never had survived the jutsu, for the power was too strong.

_But, that was years ago..._Omari giggled nervously inside of her head. _This is now. Maybe I'm old enough to use the special jutsu. I mean, maybe I wont die. I know I'll get a little thrown off, but that's okay._

Omari reminded herself that she really didn't have to use the jutsu. After all, she still had a bit of her chakra, even after the shadow monster incident. She still had time to think it over a bit while she tussled with this maniac, Hikaru.

Hikaru suddenly took out a huge, sliver blade with a blue flame-shaped handle and swung it wildly in Omari's direction. Omari held the sheild out in front of her for protection.

Hikaru laughed and stopped. He still held the deadly blade in position, however, daring Omari to come out from behind the sheild. "You really think that your ratty peice of tin will hold back this beauty of mine? Pathetic!" Powerful blue waves came over the sheild and he swung it in Omari's direction. The newly charged sword hit the sheild, and Omari's sheild shattered in a million peices, then virtually disappared before they hit the ground.

Omari gasped as Hikaru grinned and stepped torwards her threateningly with the sword in hand. Omari's eyes widened as she took a few baby steps back and bumped into Slicer. Omari hadn't been expecting that, either. She involuntarily turned around to look at Slicer when Hikaru took the chance to swing the blade at her. Slicer grabbed Omari just in time and they both ducked.

Slicer let go of Omari and they both scrabbled away from Hikaru. Hikaru just laughed like a hyena and swung the blade right in between them, cutting a hole in the ground just to intimidate them. He lifted the powerfully charged blade from the ground and cacked again.

"None of you goons can hide from me." Hikaru laughed. "I'm going to slice you all to bits sooner or later."

"_And I'll smash you to bits even sooner_..." Haku growled in a whisper, digging his fingernails into the hard ground. Haku wanted to kill Hikaru. Hikaru was trying to hurt his friends, and the one that he truly loved. He still needed to build up every ounce of energy to pull this off. He needed to break he and Zabuza out of there before Omari and the thers were goners.

Zamu had a bone to pick with Hikaru's first sentence. "Why can't we hide?" He asked defiantly. "I mean, technically, we can always just run away from this stupid place. We still have our arms and legs, and Omari has the crystal."

"Aren't you the smart one?" Hikaru giggled cruelly. "Zamu, you were the one who was always trying to outsmart me, always ratting me out for the bad things that I did. The goody-goody. The genius. Well, guess what, Braniac? Looks like I outsmarted you this time."

"Huh?" Zamu was dumbfounded.

Hikaru smirked as he put his hands together in a sign. "Secret Justu: Underground Tornado of Oblivion!"

"What?!" Slicer screeched. _Aw, c'mon, not this jutsu again!_

Hikaru watched proudly as his jutsu was beginning to take effect. A huge, swirling black circle formed around the battle site, trapping everyone inside of the small space of the platform was in. The peice of platform that they were all standing on now was normal, but every other part of the spirit world was being goalied by the tornado circle.

Omari stood, glaring at Hikaru menacingly. "You monster! You can't keep us trapped here untill you kill us all!"

"Why can't I?" Hikaru asked her sweetly. "You either get killed by me, or get sucked into the tornado hole that goes down forever. I think that would fall over the category of 'trapped', don't you think?" He said sarcastically.

Before Omari could respond, Tarina suddenly screamed loudly again. The next level of the kiling techneque had been released by the seal, and she now lay unconscious on the ground of the cage. She would die in less than an hour if they didn't hurry up and defeat Hiakru so he'd open the cage. Hikaru laughed merrily, as if he were a little kid getting what he wanted for his birthday.

"_Rrrrrr...That's it!_" Omari suddenly (and finally) broke ranks and ran at Hikaru at full speed, with every single kunai that she had at the ready, in both hands and her mouth. There was the look of murder in her eyes, even worse when she had fought Naruto. Hikaru just looked at her. Geez. Omari, the one that Hikaru had always liked for years, wanted to kill him over Haku and Tarina and the guy with the sword. What was with that?

As Omari was charging with every ounce of energy in her body, Hikaru remembered how miserable he was back on Earth. His parents from the Hidden Waterfall abandoned him for his Kekkei Genkai. He almost pitied himself then. While on the Kingpin Kunais team,Tarina had always respected him, Slicer was never sure about him, Zamu was frightened of him, and Omari, who he had always tried to appeal to, thought that he was a freak. She had never said it out loud as a child, but Hikaru always knew what she was thinking.

He suddenly felt so self-loathing that he considered letting his beloved Omari strike him with all of her energy, but...he needed to get rid of his betrayers before he could destroy himself. Just as the glass kunai was about to hit Hikaru's chest, Hikaru stopped it with his sword and tripped her. Omari fell to the ground, every kunai clattering to the platform with her.

Hikaru sighed. He didn't want to do this, but he reminded himself that Omari, Slicer, Zamu, and even that Kamichi kid were always looking up to Tarina. The one who had killed him without even giving him a second chance. _Or...maybe there was other chances. The ones that I failed to take the opportunity of to make myself a better person. Maybe that second chance was a long, long time ago. I'm not sure when, but I bet it sure existed..._

Hikaru shook himself out of this crazy thought. He was beginning to think like Tarina now. He couldn't convert to a personality like that. He stepped torwards Omari, who lay on the ground, breathless, all hope lost. He held the sword firm in his hand, but it was shaking. After he was done with her, he'd go after the others. They wouldn't be too hard to eliminate. Not as hard as Omari would be.

Hikaru thought about all of the other people who he liked and loved that were gone, all because of him...

Omari suddenly leapt up again and tackled Hikaru without Hikaru even noticing. She started to make a hand sign of her ultimate jutsu. Hikaru couldn't let that happen. He knocked her off of him, held her to the platform with his body and grabbed her hands with one of his. With the other, he held the sword at Omari's neck.

"Omari!!" Zamu and Slicer cried out.

The calls of Omari's teammates were making it worse for Hikaru. He was enjoying his frightened victims before, but now...

Omari was sweating and shaking, not daring to move or even cry, waiting for it to all end. Hikaru could see the beating of her heart in her throat. He could see it fluttering and skipping as Omari waited impatiently for her punishment. For Hikaru to finally get his revenge on her.

_**Back In The Beast's Territory...**_

"Yaaaah!" Kamichi screamed out as he caught the monster with his two hands. He was actually holding it up in the air.

Both he and the monster were shocked. Kamichi knew that the monster had to be pretty heavy. The monster knew his own weight if he had tried to do something like body-slam something. Kamichi was breathless. How had he done that? He had never felt this much strength within him before.

Kamichi suddenly sensed that he needed to finish this. The others could be in trouble. Kamichi roughly threw the monster down on the ground, partially for his own pleasure of demonstrating his newfound strength. The monster stood up, grimacing, ready to launch another bug attack.

Kamichi focused on every ounce of energy that he had in his body, trying to spark something. He needed it, and he also felt the suit weakening. He couldn't fight for long. He found that nothing had come up. His chakra wasn't moving. Kamichi finally figured it out. With this suit, you took what you got. You weren't allowed to use your own chakra. Only taijutsu was usable while you were in this armor.

Kamichi still needed something powerful. He whipped out the only kunai that he hadn't lost already on the warp to this world. He placed it firmly on the ground, still focusing on his energy. After a few moments, the kunai had taken up the armor from the ground, too. Kamichi now could transfer his power to it, since they were covered in the same material.

He tried his best to transfer all of his own chakra inside of the weapon, to give it a bit more power. When the dark kunai was given it's temporary blue glow, Kamichi realized with pride that he had filled his own weapon with energy.

The monster was charging again. Kamichi glanced at the kunai, and it was already starting to lose the chakra glow. Chakra definatley doesn't last long inside of metal as it does ninja. This was his last chance. Kamichi charged right back at the lead shadow monster, as quick as he could, so there would be more imapct.

Kamichi slashed right through the monster with his whole body and kunai without any struggle. Kamichi turned in shock to see the dying, dumbfounded, and screaming monster behind him. The monster's body was smoking as he simmered and gushed into a liquid, into the ground, lifeless.

Kamichi glanced at the kunai, then at the pool of green acid nearby where the monster had last stood. He looked up nervously as the Hikaru's other henchmen gaped in shock at him. Kamichi had forgotten about them. He was definatley in trouble now.

Kamichi held his breath, waiting for a monster to yell, "You killed our leader! Prepare to die!". But none came. Kamichi raised his eyebrows as the other monsters scattered off into the distance, screamig over their monster leader's deaths. Kamichi had won. He had fought Hikaru's best henchman and won. Now the others were afraid to mess with him.

"That...was...awesome!" Kamichi breathed to himself, shaking his head in wonder. It was terrifying, but it was almost like a cruel, sick video game level that was almost impossible to beat. Kamichi knew that his teammates would have probably hit him in the head if he ever told them that he had partially enjoyed the experience.

Kamichi suddenly saw a blinding light in the gloomy sky of the world he was trapped in. An escape. To the next level, which was where Omari and the others were. They needed his help. Kamichi hesitated before jumping inside the portal. It was time to help his friends.

_**Meanwhile...**_

Hikaru was now getting ready to raise the sword and slice. He had been stalling the whole time, deciding whether not to kill his former teammate or not. He had been teasing poor Omari the whole time, and laughing about how she was going to die and that there was no one left to help her. If Zamu and Slicer tried to help, Hikaru said that he'd just shove them into the Underground Tornado. But now, his decision was set. He was ready to kill Omari.

"Hee hee! I've been anticipating this for so long! Now the time's finally here! Maybe as I'm doing it, I'll savor the moment..." Hikaru said, threatening to make it a slow, long, and painful death for Omari by using the sword.

"Uhhn...nooo...please..." Omari whispered. "What do you get out of this?! What will killing us do for you? How will it help?! It'll just make you even more miserable. I learned it the hard way by losing Tarina, and now you'll feel it, too."

"You forgot the fact that I have no one left to lose! Nobody ever loved or cared about me! I was murdered! I'm not going to feel anything. I don't need anyone." Hikaru said in a grave tone, rasing the sword above Omari's head. "Now, you're all going to pay for what you did to me. And you just happen to be the first one to go!"

"Nooooo! Omari!" Haku screamed tearfully. "Hikaru! Please, just don't do it! Put the red seal on my head if you want! Just don't kill her!"

"Don't worry. You'll recieve your big red seal and explode right after I get rid of these stupid, unworthy humans here!" Hikaru cackled.

Slicer made a run for Hikaru with his sword. "No! I can't let this happen! Our leader can't die again! I'll do anything to save Omari!"

Hikaru released a different type of energy from his hand and it entered Slicer's body. He screamed as he flopped pathetically to the ground, immobilized. After seeing that. Zamu didn't dare make a move. "Idiot. None of you are any match for me." Hikaru said.

Hikaru was about to bring down the sword on poor Omari's neck when he suddenly felt something hit his chest and knock him over to the ground. He heard the sword skid away from him on the platform, out of Hikaru's reach.

When Hikaru's eyes cleared, a small boy made of the platform's material was on top of him, breathless. Kamichi was still shaded in with midnight black and purple symbols. He didn't even look like himself. He was basically blended in with the ground, so Hikaru didn't even know what hit him at first.

"Kamichi?" Everyone except Hikaru asked in unison.

"That's right. I'm back." Kamichi said. He turned to Hikaru, who as below him. "And I'm not gonna let _you_ hurt Omari or anyone else. You're a sick, twisted monster who put me through a whole obstacle course full of giant shadows that wanted to eat me. I don't let people like that get away easily."

Hikaru angrily kicked Kamichi off of him, but Kamichi stood his ground in front of him, little fists clenched. "Oh, yeah? Just because you've learned to make a Dark Spirit Sheild doesn't make you better than me, because I can do it, too. You think you're tougher than me?" He was enraged by Kamichi's courage. It both annoyed and unnervd him.

No one besides Hikaru had ever made a Spirit Sheild. The best ninja that Hikaru had ever met could only make a Light Spirit Sheild, which can only be made on Earth, only when elevated at least five-thousand feet high in the clouds. Kamichi was only a chunin, a puny chunin that was given a Kingpin Kunai bandanna. How could he make a Dark Spirit Sheild, of all things? Hikaru was certain that only Tarina could make a Light Spirit Sheild. Even that was less powerful than the Dark one. Kamichi was pretty powerful.

Kamichi glared at Hikaru from behind the armor. "No. I have to admit that I've grown alot, but I don't think that I can beat you. But, I bet _she _can still beat you." Kamichi pointed at Omari. "She'll always be better than you. Even if you learned all the jutsus in the world, she's still a thousand times better."

"What did you say, brat?!" Hikaru screeched. "That goon can never surpass my power!"

Omari, Slicer, Zamu, Zabuza, and Haku were still stunned by Kamichi's sudden appearance from nowhere. Omari eventually snapped out of it. "Well, maybe I can. It's worth a try!" She growled at Hikaru.

Hikaru turned torwards her after he picked up his sword. "You don't even have to try. Your future will be death, and it's for sure. There's no way that any of you can survive here."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Omari laughed. "For all you know, you're prediction can reverse. Maybe it'll be you who will be destroyed." She put her hands together in a sign that Slicer, Zamu, and Hikaru recognized. Tarina had never used it often, but they knew where that sign was coming from. And now, Omari was the one who was going to use it this time.

"Omari...you know how...?" Zamu whispered in awe.

"Yeah, I do. And I don't care if it somehow backfires on me in the end. I'm determined to protect the ones I love. That's what a good leader is, right?" Omari said, halfway through the 99 hand signs that had to be made for the jutsu.

"Pffft. Omari, you know that you can't do it! You're worthless. You actually think that you can? That's fine with me, You'll die either way. If you stop, you know I'll just keep coming after you. And if you keep going, I'll just wait untill you explode yourself!" Hikaru giggled as Kamichi glared at him in disgust, the armor now fully gone, but the Dark Spirit Sheild was still on the kunai.

"Back away from Hikaru, Kamichi. I don't want you to risk getting hurt while we're fighting. Go with Slicer and Zamu." Omari instructed in a very low voice.

"Um...okay..." Kamichi looked nervous and shaky. He ran to Zamu and Slicer, who kept him close.

"'_Back away from Hikaru, Kamichi. I don't want you to risk getting hurt'._'' Hikaru mocked, putting his hands together in a sign. "Whatever. To satisfy you goons, I'll try to set up an attack as well. Let's just see if you can pull this off." A glowing purple energy ball was forming in his hand, his eyes sparkling dangerously. The new attack he had set up was not that powerful, and was probably only good for killing shinobi like Kamichi.

"Fine. We'll see." Omari whispered, now in a threatening attack stance. Her body gave off a glow, half violet and half a blinding yellow. She bent down on the ground, placing her palms on the ground, as if she was to pull something out of the ground. "The Two Swords Of Sunlight and Darkness! The Ultimate Forbidden Killing Technique!" She chanted loudly, suddenly beginning to pull out two very long, slender, sharp swords from the ground.

One sword's blade was shaped like a huge narrow flame, with a symbol of the Sun on the handle, glowing yellow. The other was glowing dark purple, with a symbol of a skull placed on a moon. The dark sword's blade was shaped like a sythe's blade Each sword was held on the opposite side of her glowing. If she had matched the swords on the side in which the power glow was on, then it would be too much power and she would die.

That was what Hikaru had been waiting for, for her to hold the precious, dangerous, huge swords in the wrong hands. But she had done it right. Hikaru gasped and panicked as he changed his normal, non-dangerous attack to the biggest, most dangerous one he could dig up from his memory.

Hikaru had almost no chakra left, so he released every ounce of spiritual energy that he could summon. He had to, or else Omari would rip him apart in a millisecond as soon as the blades touched skin. He waited for Omari to finish powering the blades and herself and stood, ready to charge.

Slicer and Zamu looked proud yet frightful. Tarina was still knocked out and was getting weaker by the second, so she didn't really have an expression on her face. Zabuza was absolutley stunned and temporarily blinded by the glow of the light sword. Haku looked determined. No doubt that he wanted Omari to win, but he wanted to get at Hikaru, too, after all Hikaru has put them through. Kamichi was shocked and hopeful and frightened, too. If Hikaru somehow managed to escape the big attack and kill Omari, then Hikaru was sure to rip Kamichi into even smaller peices.

Hikaru watched with horror as Omari finally yanked the swords with all of her strength and charged, her arms raised. If the swords themselves didn't kill Hikaru, then her energy itself would.

Hikaru stopped the attack plan that he had before. If he charged, he would only get thrown back ten times harder, and, not to mention, die. That wasn't good. Hikaru changed his attack energy into pure defense. If only he was near a steel wall or something, he could blend in. Not the simplest Spirit Sheild could help him now.

"This is it for you!" Omari screeched, increasing in speed with the two heavy swords. She ran at full speed, not wanting Hikaru to even get the chance to defend himself. She wanted this to be over. Hikaru had done too much to them. It would finally end.

_I have to prepare myself. The impacts going to be pretty nasty..._ Hikaru gulped, covering himself in every single amount of defensive energy that he could muster. _I must not show fear. Villans must not show fear, or else when the enemy attcks, the villan gets caught off guard and is defeated. I can't that happen. I WILL kill them. I just have to focus on my energy..._

"Aaaaaaaaauugghh!" Omari screamed at the top of her lungs as she slammed herself and the swords of Light and Darkness into Hikaru. She went numb the second she hit. Omari wondered if she was going to die now. She saw and heard the explosion. It was deafening. She was inside of it, in the middle of it, yet she was taking no damage...the sounds of the explosion grew fainter...she felt herself falling, falling, starting to sleep. Yes, she needed rest...

"Omari!" Slicer, Zamu, Kamichi, Haku, and Zabuza all screamed. They waited for the smoke to clear to see what was happening. The ground in between where Hikaru and Omari were lying was destroyed. Slicer, Kamichi, and Zamu ran over to the scene. Zabuza strained to see from where he was trapped.

Omari was breathing heavily on he ground, blood staining her hands. The swords were laying next to her, still intact. After a few more moments, they realized that she was knocked out from the explosion and shock wave. Omari wasn't dead. She'd be okay. That's all everyone really cared about at the moment. They then took a nervous glance at the other side of the gap in the platform.

Hikaru definatley wasn't dead. He was on his knees, vomiting up liquid chakra and acid uncontrollably, shaking. He too, was dreanched in blood. Two huge, deep slashes crisscrossed the middle part of his body, along with a variety of other scratches. His clothes were burnt and tattered. What was left of his powers were completley and utterly drained. He was a mess. A real mess, but certainly not down for the count.

Everyone stared at Hikaru in shock, wondering how he could have survived. Even Omari was unconscious, and she had survived the attack. Hikaru glanced at the ground nearby and saw his precious sword burnt to a crisp. Only the handle remained. Hikaru reached in his pocket and took out the stone kunai that he had stolen. He glared at it and shoved it back in his pocket, knowing that it wouldn't be of much use now.

"Arrgh...why?!" Hikaru screeched tearfully. "How?! How can she be so strong?! After all of the training I've been through, I still come out to be the bratty loser! Now...all of my chakra is gone! How could this have happened?! I feel totally useless!" He looked around the platform/battle arena, and saw that the circle of the Underground Tornado was gone.

"I don't think that there was a winner in the end..." Zamu said softly. "That attack...the outcome didn't go as we expected." He wasn't sure of what to say at that point.

Hikaru looked up again with his now crazed, bloodshot eyes. "Y-you're right. You're right! There...wasn't a winner. Not yet. I can still kill her..." He made a feeble attempt to stand, but he ended up collasping back down from exaustion.

"Hikaru, after all of this, you're still intending to kill us?!" Kamichi screamed. "You...you don't understand! You're supossed to be gone by now! How come the attack didn't get rid of you?!"

"Because..." Omari finally came to. Everyone stared in shock at her, amazed at what she had done to protect herself and others. She had risked her life just to take the power away from Hikaru. "Because...I'm not old enough yet. I'm not experienced enough, so...he was able to defend himself."

"Nooo! You goon, don't you get it?! I'm useless! I should have been able to dodge that attack and kill you! This is it! I was feeling sorry before, but now you're definatley going down!" Hikaru used what was left of his energy to stand. He started to hobble, but then quickened his pace torwards the beaten and exausted Omari.

Hikaru breathlessly grabbed the Sword Of Darkness. He knew that he would only be burned to death if he tried picking up the Sword Of Light. He raised the huge blade over Omari's body, ready to slicer her in half this time. No holding back.

Just as Hikaru was about to bring the sword down on his enemy, Haku stood up with blue chakra covering his body, making him slightly glow. "I'm not going to let you kill her! This is the final straw!" He backed up a few steps, then charged at the cage itself at full speed. Everyone wondered how he was planning to escape. Haku rammed right through the bars and skidded to a stop as the bars to the stee cage clattered to the ground.

As Omari gaped in awe and admiration at her love for coming to the rescue, Hikaru was enraged. "What?! What's this?! All of this time I had...I didn't even get the chance to..." Hikaru was shocked. After all of this time, Hikaru hadn't even killed one of them. He knew that he had lost and would have to give the key up to Haku before Hikaru got hurt. But, he wasn't done yet. He _had _to get rid of at least Tarina. If he could just keep the key to the cage for a little longer, Tarina would be no more.

Haku dusted himself off, then turned to glare at Hikaru, who waved uneasily at him.

"Um...Haku...well, this is a suprise..." Hikaru laughed, hiding the Sword of Darkness behind him. It was practiclly no use, because the blade was too long to hide horizontally behind him.

Haku was coming torwards him now. Slowly, threateningly, angrily. "You locked a seal on Tarina to kill her, locked Zabuza and I in a cage, stole the stone kunai from Tarina, warped Kamichi to another world, used your summoning jutsu to try and kill everyone, you tried to slice Omari's head off, and now you're using the dark jutsu sword that she made to try and kill her again?"

Hikaru stared at the older, more threatening boy and shivered, taking a baby step back. He had thought that he didn't have to worry. He was so certain that he would kill all of them before Haku even had the chance to get out. "I...I...no, I wasn't going to kill her...why would you think that I was going to kill her with this old thing?" Hikaru lied weakly. That had to be the worst lie that he had ever made in his life.

Before Hikaru could say more, Haku disappeared from sight. Hikaru felt Haku snatch the sword from behind him and throw it to the ground. Hikaru turned around. Haku had moved so fast that Hiakru didn't even see him sneak behind him. Hikaru stared nervously at his new threat, trembling, waiting for Haku's next words.

"You weren't going to kill her, huh? Then, what _were_ you going to do with it?" Haku's glare was even stronger than before. A golden kunai was drawn in his hand. His hands were at his sides, but Hikaru could tell that Haku wasn't afraid to slash or stab at him with it. Hikaru knew that he had messed with one too many of Haku's friends, and Haku wasn't going to let Hikaru get away with it.

"I was...I was...going to...keep it. Yeah, that's it. I just seemed to have taken a shine to it and wanted to..." Hikaru giggled nervously, quickly trying to think of a plan to stop Haku from pummeling him and a way to still kill off his teammates. He took another step back from Haku.

"Uh-huh. Sure." Haku crossed his arms angrily. "You're the worst liar ever. Alright, lets just settle this. Give me the key to Tarina's cage, and then we can be done with this."

"And if I dont...?" Hikaru asked stubbornly, twirling the keychain that he now had in his hands. The little gold key that opened Tarina's cage was spinning on it. They needed that key, or else all was lost.

"If you don't give it to me, I'll either have to beat it out of you or kill you for it." Haku said in a grave tone. "As I said, I'm not going to let you hurt any of my friends. I can't watch Tarina suffer like this."

"Whatever. You're not getting the key, no matter what you do to me. Even if you killed me." Hikaru said.

"How can I not get it if you're dead?"

"Before I'll die, I'll either swallow the key or throw it over the edge of the platform. Duh. The final answer is no. Tarina's gonna be dead in about five minutes. You might as well not come after me at all." Hikaru shrugged, still clutching the key as tight as he could.

"Coward. You're just afraid because you have no chakra and are greatly outnumbered." Haku said. He suddenly made a move to snatch the key. Hikaru yelped as he pulled it back and tried to get away. He now held the key the way a timid four-year-old would hold an ice cream cone.

Haku threw a strong, swift punch at Hikaru's face, something he had wanted to do ever since Tarina, Zabuza and he were imprisoned. Hikaru didn't have time to think about how to dodge. Hikaru immidiatley felt the pain and impact on his nose and fell onto the ground, with the keys skidding to a stop nearby on the platform.

Hikaru recovered in one moment, despite his bleeding nose and newly swollen eye. The two boys both dove for the key. They trippe over each other and in an instant, were fighting on the ground.

Omari, Slicer, Zamu, Kamichi, and Zabuza were all gaping at the two fight over the key like wild animals. Kamichi and Omari were silently rooting for Haku in their minds, while Zabuza, Slicer, and Zamu were wondering if they should join the fight and help Haku. Haku wasn't getting as badly hurt as Hikaru was, however. He could handle it.

Suddenly, Hikaru finally snatched up the keys from the ground and dashed away as fast as he could. Haku groaned and raced after him as fast as he could. They were now out of view. Nobody could spot them fighting in the distance.

Omari stood up weakly, forced to grab onto Zamu for support. Her legs were still wobbly. "I...think...Haku will be okay. Hikaru's got nothing left. I'm sure of that..." She coughed.

"That was amazing. Using that power and all. Wow. I've never seen anything like it. Even though you didn't destroy Hikaru, you did do alot of damage." Zamu said in a hushed voice. He then looked down at the two swords that remained. "So...what are you going to do with those? I mean, when I saw Tarina use that attack, the swords faded, like, two seconds after the enemy was killed."

"No. When the swords kill an enemy, they fade from exaustion. I think I get to keep them now. When I was charging, I suddenly...felt weak. Like I didn't want to kill Hikaru. It almost felt like striking out at a brother or something. I think...that's why Tarina buried the kunai. She didn't want to remember it." She looked at Tarina, trying to keep calm over her slowly destroying friend. Tarina looked almost ready to burst into smitherines now, but Omari somehow knew that Haku would get the key from Hikaru in a matter of moments.

"How did Tarina even get the kunai back, anyway? Didn't she bury it when she killed Hikaru, far away from the Hidden Mist?" Slicer asked.

"You're right. She did, but... she probably thought that she might as well stick with her past. She probably couldn't bear to dispose of her prized possesion and memories. I mean, killing Hikaru wasn't the only memory in that kunai. There were other, better memories about victory and frinedship and all. She didn't want to lose those. That's why she retrieved the kunai somehow when she died and came here." Omari said.

Everyone pondered on this for a second, thinking about what Omari had just told them. There was silence.

She turned to Kamichi, who looked very confused and dazed from the last turn of events. Omari decided that the kid must also be tired. She didn't even have the slightest idea of what he was going through the past few hours. Omari decided to break the silence and start talking again. It calmed her nerves and soothed her impatience for Haku to return with the key. "Hey, Kamichi. I just wanted to thank you for saving me back there." She smiled.

Kamichi didn't catch half of the sentence. He was too busy thinking. "Huh?" He looked up at her.

"I wanted to thank you for saving me when Hikaru was going to kill me back there. You came in just in time. I can tell that you fought pretty hard in the world you were warped to." Omari said.

"Oh!" Kamichi beamed proudly, perking up a bit. "Your welcome. That's what teammates are for, anyway! By the way, you should have seen the size of the monster I had to kill back there. It was huge. Those guys were all trying to squish me and eat me and all. I have to admit, it was pretty terrifying." He said truthfully.

Before Omari could reply, Haku came back huffing and puffing with the key held in his hand. No Hikaru. "Hey, you guys! I got the key!" He said, rushing over to the cage that Tarina was in. Somehow, it didn't sound like something Haku would say. Everyone knew that Haku wasn't,on the right track, after all he's been through. But, that was okay. If he was okay, everyone else would be.

"You got the key?!" Omari asked with joy. "Thank goodness!" She breathed as the key entered the lock.

Haku swung open the cage. Then, he used the same key to open the handcuffs that were on poor Tarina's hands. His hand suddenly glowed green as he reached for Tarina's forehead. He suddenly peeled the rounded seal from her head and it didn't at all affect her skin. He peeled it as if it were a smiley-face sticker. He squeezed it in his hand and it dissolved, just like that.

Omari hadn't even thought about removing the seal from Tarina. "Wow...how'd you do that, Haku?" Omari asked with a weird feeling in her stomach. She had never known that Haku could remove deadly seals just like that, without even using a jutsu or scroll to get rid of it. She still felt relieved, no matter how disturbing Haku's power was. She ran over to Tarina, who was still unconsious. She hugged her best friend into her arms, sighing with relief.

Haku suddenly looked a bit nervous. He blushed. "Uh, that power to remove seals...it comes with being dead, that's all. After a human dies, their power become way stronger in this land."

Omari nodded, finally understanding it. Then, she had another question. "Where is Hikaru? What ever happened to him?"

"Oh. Hikaru? He's gone. For good. I really beat him this time. Then, after I obtained the key, I just decided to push him over the edge of the platform. Why not? He was only going to cause more trouble anyway." Haku said.

Zabuza laughed. "Heh, heh, heh. He really did deserve it, didn't he? Good riddance to that stupid brat." Zabuza was the only one who didn't feel sick inside. Everyone else was speechless about the news. It wasn't really like Haku to kill someone off like that without much reason. Haku got the key, didn't he? Haku usually would have stopped after that and assumed that Hikaru had learned his lesson. Omari was sure that Haku wouldn't really kill Hikaru, but she was dead wrong. But, nothing could be done now. It was over.

Slicer walked over to the cage, went inside, and lifted Tarina. He walked out and gently placed her on the ground. "We can't take her back to Earth or anything in case she needed a hospital. Wlll...she be okay with you guys?"

Haku smiled. "Sure, she will. We'll take care of Tarina, don't you worry! You can trust us. She'll be better in no time!"

Omari smiled nervously. "I...I'm just so glad that it's all over. We-" She was interrupted by her crystal that she still wore around her neck. It was shaking and glowing a lighter shade of purple. Omari was almost certain that it was going to take them back home soon. "Uh...we'd better go soon. I...know this is a bit sudden that we have to leave, but..." She was still in shock that Haku had the nerve to kill Hikaru. It just wasn't like him.

"Tarina's in good hands." Zabuza assured her. "We understand that you all gotta leave now. That experience we just had there...wow. Not much comments. What matters is that we're all still alive- or, er...intact. We'll let Tarina contact you all when she recovers. That seal had a real nasty effect on her. If Haku hadn't taken it off then, who knows where Tarina would be."

"All over the place." Haku said grimly. Then he slightly cried out as Kamichi ran over to hug him goodbye.

"Haku-sensei, you were awesome!" Kamichi said. "I can't believe that you managed to break out of that cage and all and get the key!"

"Um...you were awesome, too, Kamichi. Don't worry, I'll visit your dreams again." Haku said uncomfortably, patting him lightly on the head.

"Yeah, you guys DO realize that your crystal will dissolve the second you get back on Earth?" Zabuza scratched his head. "Sorry about that, but this world has crazy rules. We'll just visit you again sometime, okay?"

"Okay, Zabuza." Omari said pleasantly. She didn't care much if the crystal was destroyed. It would keep her from getting curious and messing with it when she got back to the hideout. She walked over to Haku, an gave him a hug. "Goodbye, Haku. Thanks for helping us and everything." She gave him a kiss.

Haku's face turned as red as a tomato. Omari couldn't understand why he was so shy around her all of a sudden. "Uh...right. Goodbye, Omari..." He squeaked out, lightly touching his own mouth where Omari had kissed him. It somehow seemed so amazing to Haku that she kissed him. Omari didn't understand what the big deal was with him, but she then decided that Haku just probably wasn't expecting it.

"I hope you get better, Tarina..." Omari whispered to Tarina, who was softly breathing on the ground nearby. She picked up the Sword Of Light from the scorched ground and decided to keep it for future use. After using the attack, she could only choose one sword to take if she was lucky enough to not kill her opponent, which she didn't. The Sword of Light wouldn't be as strong, but it would help her. She decided not to choose the Sword Of Darkness. The darker sword would be too much for her, and her Kekkei Genkai and too much power didn't do well together. Her inside spirit couldn't resist power, just as Hikaru's did. She truly hoped that Zabuza and Haku (who was acting so weird) would take care of her and nurse her back to health.

Slicer and Zamu quickly said their goodbyes to Zabuza and Haku, knowing that their time was just about up in this world. Omari placed the shaking, seemingly anxious crystal to the ground. The Kingpin Kunais all stood around the crystal in a circle as tight as they could make it. Once again, the whole platform seemed to shake. The group stood their ground as the crystal gave off that same blinding light. The earthquake was even stronger than the trip there. Kamichi cried out and grabbed onto Omari this time as the rainbow teleportation beam started to kick in...

Finally, the Kingpin Kunais were returning home.

_**Turn To The Next Chapter!! It's Not the End!**_

_**You Will Not Believe What Happens Next!**_


	17. Aftermath: 8: The Horrid Discovery

_**Aftermath: 8 : The Horrid Discovery**_

_**Two Days Later...**_

Kamichi was relieved. He was happy that his first mission was a complete success and that they were on a break for their adventures in the spirit world. He was a bit weirded out now that he thought about what had happened back there, but now, everything woud be okay. Tarina was in good hands and was probably still recovering. That was what mainly relieved him, that the Hikaru situation was finally over.

It was 5:40 P.M. Kamichi was now in his room, playing with the kunai that he had set a Dark Spirit Sheild around. The sheild was stil there. Kamichi didn't know why, but he sensed that the dark kunai was special, just like Haku's golden kunai, the icy kunai, and the stone kunai, which was finally placed back in Tarina's possesion.

He put down the kunai into his little box filled with his special items, picked up the big cupcake he was eating before and stuffed what was left of it in his mouth. He went in the kitchen to find more to eat. Ever since he had thrown up all that was in his stomach on Hikaru, he was especially hungry.

Kamichi grabbed a doughnut box from the counter that his teammates were unlikely to eat. He sat down on the table and opened the box. Six assorted doughnuts lay neatly in the box. Kamichi needed sugar. He had felt quite uneasy since the battle, and needed to return to his old perky self. He was scaring himself. Usually, he would be in his room now, cooking up a crazy scheme to drive Omari, Slicer, or Zamu nuts.

Doughnuts would help him think. He picked up a large, overfilled jelly doughnut with powder and started eating and thinking. He had promised his teammates that he would stop being such a prankster all of the time, but they said he didn't need to change. Good. Kamichi thought about his next victim that he could pull something on. If he tried driving Slicer crazy, then that would come with serious consequenses. Zamu was easy to push around, but boring. Omari was the best one to mess with. She had always scolded him or tried to get him back, but it never worked. Kamichi was always too quick for her.

Kamichi had gotten halfway through the box and halfway through his plans to stuff Omari's pillow with dog food that night, but his thoughts were interrupted when Omari herself walked into the room.

Just in case Omari was somehow reading Kamichi's thoughts, Kamichi tried his best to flash her a cute, innocent smile. "Hey, Omari. I was just thinking of you. What are you up to?" He asked sweetly.

"Not much. What are _you_ up to, besides shoveling gooey doughnuts down your throat?" Omari asked him.

"Nothin'." Kamichi smiled again. "Just trying to rebuild my strength, that's all."

Omari sat in a chair at the table with a copy of the _Hidden Mist Daily _in her hands. She opened the newspaper and started to scan the page for anything interesting. "I see."

Kamichi felt awkward not having a conversation with someone that he was sitting right across from. He didn't like the silence. He decided to speak up after two full minutes of not speaking. "So, uh...when are we going on our next mission?"

"Soon."

"How soon?" Kamichi asked, trying to sound eager.

"Probably tomorrow." Omari shrugged. "Not today. I still can't move well after using the jutsu. I need to rebuild my strength, too. We're going to start out simple tomorrow. It wont exactly be a trip to the spirit world. Probably a C-Ranked mission or something."

"What about that Light sword of yours?" Kamichi said. "Are you going to bring that with you, too? That thing is really cool."

"No. Only for special missions I can use it." Omari said plainly.

"Am I allowed to touch it?" Kamichi asked hopefully. He had always wanted to use a sword. They looked so cool and shiny.

"I guess. If you really _need_ to touch it, then I guess you could. Just don't hurt yourself with it, okay? If you're going to bother with it, then don't swing it around and stuff. You could hurt somebody or break something." Omari said. She knew that Kamichi was maturing and would eventually be able to own his own sword. He was only eleven years old now, but many younger ninja were allowed to handle one.

"Okay. Oh, yeah, what happened to the Sword of Darkness? You just left it there. How come?" Kamichi asked suspiciously.

"Because I couldn't take both." Omari said. "The Sword of Darkness and the Sword of Light definatley don't go together. That's why I was so badly hurt after the attack. I could have been killed. Anyway, I picked the Swod of Light because it depends on what type of person you are. I'm not exactly a perfectly kind ninja. I'm a rogue ninja with a crazy Kekkei Genkai, and so the Darkness Sword would just cause trouble. I would fight way better with the Sword of Darkness, but I had to be safe with that one."

"What sword would I have?" Kamichi wondered aloud.

"Probably the Sword of Light. You may have made a Dark Spirit Sheild, and a dark kunai, which matches perfectly with the Sword of Darkness, but your heart isn't evil and you've never killed anyone. Usually, younger kids like you would have the Sword of Light."

"Oh." Kamichi wasn't sure of how to react to the statement. He supossed that the Light sword was a good weapon, but him being able to make a dark kunai and Dark Spirit Sheild was kind of weird. He thought that there should have been some sort of combonation between the two. Then, he wouldn't be so puzzled. Either way, he still wanted a cool sword like Omari's. He wondered if either Haku or Zabuza or Tarina had claimed the Sword of Darkness when they had left.

"Hey, Kamichi." Omari looked up from her paper, suddenly remembering something. "We're all going to a meeting pretty soon. We have to be there in about twenty minutes. Kind of like a service for who's going to take Gato's place, I guess."

"Ah. I see." Kamichi's nose wrinkled in disgust. He hated meetings. Especially ones that only concerned one person.

"You see, we showed up for all of Gato's meetings ever since he hired us to do missions for him. We're expected to be there, but you're not. You're new on the team, so if you really don't want to come, you could stay here if you want." Omari said to him.

Kamichi nodded. "Yeah, I think I'd rather stay here than go to a stupid meeting filled with those stuck-up samurai." He grimaced.

"Me too, but I have to go. I know that you still want to relax and all, so I'm letting you go this time. Next time they call a meeting, you have to come, though. I'm not comforatble with leaving you alone all of the time, and I don't want you destroying the place or sabatoging our rooms. That's the deal. Got that? Unless you want to come, of course." Omari said.

"Nah. I'm gonna just stay here. And don't worry, I wont demolish the house on you." Kamichi smirked.

"You sure that you can keep the house under control? Remember, no tricks. As soon as we walk back into the door, I don't want to see the hideout fall apart or anything, okay?" Omari said, suddenly feeling uneasy about leaving Kamichi alone.

"Sure." Kamichi was still smiling.

Omari rolled her eyes. She knew that Kamichi loved to drive them all mad, ever since he had met them back at Haku and Zabuza's hideout. But she knew that Kamichi was still a good kid. "Alright, I'll trust you. Just don't take Nibbles out from the scroll, demolish the kitchen, or mess around too much with my sword. Other than that, you can do whatever you want. Okay?"

"Don't worry, Omari. I'll be fine." Kamichi said.

"...And if any intruder comes near this place, you have to get away from here, fast. The meeting is only a quarter of a mile away. You have to come and get us if anything like that happens." Omari told him.

Kamichi looked grumpy now. "Don't worry, Omari. I'll be okay. I promise you. Nothing bad is gonna happen."

Omari still felt uneasy, but she knew that Kamichi would just start pouting and protest even more if she kept on warning him about unnessecary matters. She gave him a quick hug. "Okay, Kamichi. I trust you to stay here by yourself and handle things untill we get back, which will be in about two and a half hours. It depends on how long the samurai keep talking. I'm going to get ready now."

"Okay. I'll be here when you get back." Kamichi singsonged, overjoyed that he was finally old enough to run things by himself for once.

_**Two Hours Later...**_

Being alone was not much fun after all.

It was nice in a few ways, but being in the hideout not as fun as having another person around. That's why Kamichi had changed the television channel to the news. It was a person's real voice. Not one of the fake cartoon ones that you rarely see a normal person use. He needed another person's voice around him.

He slowly paced around the hideout, not knowing how to occupy himself. Planning his next goof on Omari didn't seem as fun when she wasn't around him. Slicer and Zamu also gave him that comfortable, safe feeling as well. They were the ones who protected him all of the time and cared for him, and now he got a taste of what it was like without them. No wonder they stuck together all of the time.

Kamichi had absoulutley nothing to do. He could go investigate the small basement and look for spiders, but squishing bugs between his toes didn't seem too much fun. He plopped down on a chair and waited silently, patiently for Omari, Slicer, and Zamu to come home. He suddenly remembered what feeling lonely was like back in the Hidden Sound and he remembered how he used to despise the world.

Kamichi's mind pondered on many subjects that he always was wondering about. Pondering on old things was boring, but there was no one there to give him anything else to do. Kamichi was definatley going to the next meeting without complaint. He was absolutley miserable here.

There was suddenly a loud thump from the basement, like someone crashing in the house. Kamichi felt a strong, frightful shiver of panic rush through his small body. What _was _that? Kamichi hoped with all of his might that a stranger hadn't snuck into the house to steal stuff and knock Kamichi out.

Another wave of panic ripped through his body, tearing his inner confidence into shreds. He stood nervously from his chair, not knowing what to do. He knew that he should go and run away, just in case it was really another ninja.

_But...what if it's not a burgalar or a tracker? What if it's just me? If I run away and everyone finds out that no one was here in the first place, they'll just think I'm a big scardey-cat. _Kamichi thought with worry. It was better safe than sorry, but Kamichi wanted to know what the crash had come from. For all he knew, a large peice of equipment could of just have fallen to the ground. Also, the safer and more secritive door to come out of the hideout was right near the stairs.

Kamichi walked nervously and slowly torwards the basement steps, walking through the doorway that led to a hallway. Before Kamchi could get around the corner to peek down the stairs, he heard swift footsteps coming up the stairs. Closer. Closer.

Kamichi let out a terrified yelp and ran as fast as his legs could carry him out of the back door of the hieout, his eyes squeezed shut, expecting something to get him. Nothing came. Instead of hearing the evening birds twittering outside, he still heard the footsteps coming torwards him.

He opened his eyes. Kamichi gasped as he realized that he had ended up right back where he had started to run! Kamichi dove for the back door again, knowing that it was some sort of genjutsu, but only landed back in the hallway again.

"Going somewhere, Kamichi...?" A sinister voice cackled from the source of the footsteps, which was not too far away. Kamichi didn't listen well enough to recognize the voice. He was too scared to listen well. Kamichi screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran for Omari's bedroom, which was the farthest away from the stairs. This time, no genjutsu was used on him, so Kamichi bolted right into the door, and locked it.

Poor Kamichi huddled under Omari's bed covers, sobbing. "Please, please, don't hurt me..." He was softly sobbing to no one. "Why couldn't something like this happen while Omari and the others were here? Something always has to happen to the little one. The one who is finally old enough to get left alone." Kamichi wished that he had come with Omari, Slicer, and Zamu. Then, he wouldn't have to deal with this. Whatever this was.

He heard the footsteps again. Coming torwards Omari's door. Kamichi tried to stop himself rom whimpering and trembling, so maybe the intruder would mistake him for a pillow or something. He winced as he heard the intruder roughly break through the strong wooden door in one try with whatever deadly weapon he or she was using.

_I'm not here. I'm a pillow. I'm not here. I'm just a fluffy, overstuffed pillow under Omari's covers. Nothing to kill here..._ Kamichi was begging inside of his head that the intruder didn't notice him. But, it was no use. Kamichi knew that the intruder must have seen the vibrating pillow under the now rumpled blankets.

Kamichi screamed bloody murder again as the intruder snatched the covers off of him and shoved him off of the bed, onto the floor. Kamichi scrambled back as the figure slowly stepped torwards him. As Kamichi's head cleared, his eyes widened as he saw who the intruder was.

"Haku?!" Kamichi whispered in shock. This was impossible. Haku couldn't be here. He was a ghost now and couldn't come back to Earth without requesting special permission. And why was Haku being so rough with him?

"Sure. I guess you could call me that," Haku shrugged, smiling evilly at Kamichi.

Kamichi looked into Haku's eyes, which were a deep, dark green. That wasn't right. They could either be blue or dark brown. Not green. The look in his eyes were bloodthirsty, not the warm, gentle look that Haku usually gave people. His smile wasn't right, either. It was a mean one. Kamichi could tell that this visit wasn't going to be a normal one.

"Wh-why are you here? I mean, why did you come? You didn't notify us at all. You scared me half to death." Kamichi said, choosing his words carefully. Something didn't feel right.

"Stupid twerp. You know why I'm here." Haku cackled.

"Huh?!" Kamichi looked shocked. "No, I don't know why you're here! And...why are you staring at me like that?! And why am I backed up against the wall?!" He cried.

"You'll find out in a matter of seconds if you just shut up and stop squirming around like that." Haku growled, coming even closer.

"I don't think I want to find out!" Kamichi felt threatened, confused, and sick. What was wrong with Haku? "What are you doing?! Why are you here?!" He would have spoken in a nicer, more welcoming tone if Haku wasn't acting like a jerk.

"You really want to know why?" Haku smirked. He suddenly pulled out a slender, dark-purple glowing sword. "I just came here to finish a little business, that's all..."

Kamichi's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the Darkness Sword. "Haku..." He squeaked out in the tiniest, most frightened voice he had ever made. "...What...are you going to do with that?"

Haku laughed, grabbed Kamichi's shirt and lifted him in the air. "Nothing much. Why do you ask?" He asked in a sickly sweet voice, holding the sword at the ready.

At that moment, Kamichi suddenly realized that this person was not Haku. There could only be one other person.

"Please, no..." Kamichi whispered, violently shaking his head. "I know you hate us, but...just don't..."

"So, you finally figured it out, huh?" Hikaru asked with a cruel smirk. "I know that you're a pretty goony little twerp, but you're smart enough to figure out who I am."

"Where's Haku?! What'd you do with him?! Tell me, right now!" Kamichi screamed, horrified, kicking his small feet in desparation to get away.

Hikaru sneered. "Oh, he's in here. Don't you worry. It's just that my spirit has taken over Haku's body, that's all. During that little spar we had back there over the key, I just used my one and only jutsu to get inside of him. My real body's back at my castle."

"No..." Kamichi whispered, tears steaming down his face. This couldn't be happening.

"But, then again, why should I be telling you? You're only going to die now, anyway..." Hikaru held the dark sword firm in his hand and raised it a bit.

"Noooo! Please! Don't kill me! I don't want to die!" Kamichi pleaded, kicking and screaming all of the while.

"We all have to go through things that we don't want to happen." Hikaru smiled sweetly. "Sorry to say, this just happens to be one of them." Hikaru laughed cruelly. Before his victim had time to complain more, Hikaru swiftly stuck the sword's razor sharp blade into Kamichi's gut.

Kamichi's pupils shrunk down to pea-size while the whites of his eyes grew as big as golf balls. "Ahhhhh...!" He screamed in agony as blood gushed from him mouth and stomach.

"I'm tired of the Kingpin Kunais. Tarina was the leader of all of you goons. You are one of them, and so that's why this has had to happen. I'm sorry, Kamichi." Hikaru said to Kamichi, although there was still pleasure lingering in his voice. In Hikaru's opinion, revenge was sweet.

"Why...?" Kamichi squeaked out, letting more globs of blood fall to the floor as he spoke. "You monster...ohh..." As Hikaru pulled the blade from Kamichi and let him go, Kamichi collaped to the bloody floor, breathless. The young, heartless evildoer just smiled sweetly. Kamichi couldn't stand to have Hikaru in Haku's body. It just wasn't right.

Kamichi felt the awful, numbing pain and didn't even have the strength to clutch his wound. Blood and tears were beginning to fill his eyes. He was going to die. He was going to die and he didn't want to. That stupid, sickly person that was going to kill the rest of his team. Kamichi knew it. Hikaru was undefeatable. Haku didn't even get his fair match with Hikaru there. It just wasn't fair...

Kamichi felt his world, spinning, twisting, blurring. He couldn't even see or hear Hikaru laughing at him now. Kamichi now just was laying there, motionless in the pool of blood.

Hikaru looked down at Kamichi and smiled. "Well, looks like my work here is done for now." He giggled as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_**Twenty Minutes Later...**_

"Kamichi?" Omari asked nervously, looking around the living room for signs of the child. No response. There was a chill in the air that wasn't there before they had left. Everything was deathly silent. Something didn't feel right.

"Kamichi? Are you in there?" Slicer called out into the hallway, peeking in his own room first, then Kamichi's. Zamu frantically searched every corner in the bathroom and his own room.

"Maybe he's in my room..." Omari suggested to herself softly, trying to reassure herself that Kamichi wasn't kidnapped or anything. She, Zamu, and Slicer all stepped torwards Omari's room. The door looked like it was blasted open, with small peices of wood everywhere. The remains that were still attached to the doorway were hanging by one hinge.

Everyone gasped as they spotted Kamichi on the floor, with the room stained in blood. Omari, Slicer, and Zamu ran over there as fast as they could and turned Kamichi's body onto his back.

"Kamichi...no..." Omari took a look at the huge slice that had been made into Kamichi. Her eyes grew wide and she fainted right next to him.

Slicer and Zamu weren't concerned about that now. Omari would be okay, but Kamichi wasn't. "What happened here?! Who would have done this to him?!" Slicer screeched, slapping his hands to his head. He wasn't exactly in love with Kamichi, but he had always liked the kid in his own way.

Zamu quickly cheacked his pulse. "Okay. He's still hanging on, but just barely. We've _got _to get Kamichi to a hospital. Now!" Zamu started to carefully lift the unconscious boy from the ground.

"Shouldn't we just call the ambulance or something?!" Slicer cried frantically, wild.

"You want to get all of us arrested?!" Zamu yelled back, removing his red bandanna. "Get some common sense! The ANBU members will capture us! Have you forgotten that we're rogue ninja?! Just take off your bandanna and headband and help me take him to the hospital!"

Slicer ripped off his headband and green bandanna, revealing his messy red hair. The ANBU would never notice him now. He threw down his sword and helped Zamu lift Kamichi. After they put Kamichi in good hands, they would have to come back and get Omari.

_**Later In The Night: At The Hidden Mist's Hospital.**_

Kamichi stared at the ceiling from the hospital bed. He had been pretending to sleep for the past three hours. Zamu and Slicer had been driving the nurse crazy with questions about whether Kamichi would be okay or not for the past thrirty minutes. They were still going at it now. Kamichi had heard their conversation outside of his room. The nurse said that Kamichi should be fine within a few days of healing, and that he could resume life as a shinobi in no time.

The nurse had also questioned how Kamichi was hurtin the first place. Since Kamichi was "sleeping", they didn't really get the chance to ask him. Besides, if they gave any clue about where they lived and all, they could be identified as rogue nina and be arrested. So, Zamu had just quickly stated that Kamichi was very badly hurt in a normal battle on a mission.

Kamichi would rather die than lay around and wait in a hospital room, waiting untill Hikaru came back with Haku's body and killed them all.

His gut didn't hurt as much as it did when he got stabbed. His stomach area was still pulsating and super-sensitive, but he could live with the level of pain going on now. Zamu and Slicer had sit with Kamichi while he was "sleeping", and they were discussing when Omari would come to the hospital to see Kamichi.

Kamichi knew that Omari would be at the hospital in a heartbeat if he was ever wounded, but she wasn't. Kamichi understood after a few minutes of listening in his teammates that Omari had freaked out from Kamichi's wound and had fainted. Zamu and Slicer had kept on rushing on back to the hideout to see if she was okay.

_I'm so stupid. So dumb! I was such a coward. Why didn't I fight back?!_ _None of this would have happened if I had the courage to fight Hikaru. _Kamichi hated himself for not trying to kill Hikaru at that very moment. Kamichi then realized that Haku would also be dead if anyone killed Hikaru. Haku was still in his body, but blocked out somewhere.

There was a small knock on Kamichi's door. Kamichi didn't want people crowding all around him if they saw him awake, so Kamichi pulled the scratchy covers over his head and pretended to sleep.

The door opened. Kamichi heard a friendly voice that softly called out to him. "Kamichi? Are you awake?"

Kamichi instantly recognized Omari's voice and threw the covers off of his head and weakly sat up. "Yeah, I'm awake." He saw that Omari looked a bit frazzled, but was dressed in different clothes. Probably because she had gotten blood all over herself when she had fainted next to Kamichi.

"Oh, I'm so sorry this all happened, Kamichi!" Omari cried out, suddenly bursting into tears and rushing over to hug him. She was careful not to squeeze him too hard. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it here at first. I sort of was...unconscious."

"That's fine." Kamichi tried his best to sound casual, but felt his eyes filling up as well. He couldn't stand it when Omari was all mushy and emotional like this. Especially over him. It made Kamichi feel all weepy, too.

Omari looked Kamichi straight in the eye, even though tears were still coming out. "Okay, first thing's first. _What happened?_" She asked him in a dead serious tone, sitting down on the side of the bed.

Kamichi didn't want to tell. He didn't want to let Omari know how stupid and scared he had been. He didn't want to break the news that Hikaru was back and ready for action. He definatley didn't want to tell Omari, of all people, that she had really kissed Hikaru instead of Haku when they had said their goodbyes in the spirit world.

When Kamichi didn't answer and tears started strolling down his cheeks, Omari's eyes grew even more serious. _"Kamichi. You HAVE to answer me. No matter what happened, you have to tell me."_

"I can't..." Kamichi whimpered. "I can't tell you what happened. It's too-..."

Omari didn't know what to do about this. "Kamichi, I don't care about what it has to do with. You have to tell me what happened, and we can catch whoever did this to you. We can't have something like this happen to you again. You're seriously injured. You can barely sit up, let alone stand. You have to tell me."

Kamichi looked down at the bed, knowing that he'd have to tell her sooner or later. It was best to get it off of his chest now. "Well," Kamichi said softly. "While I was in th hideout doing nothing, I heard these footsteps downstairs. They came from nowhere. They pursued me untill I ran into your room. Then the person who was making the footsteps crashed through the door, cornered me, then...said some things, and stabbed me. That's all I remember." He said innocently.

Omari looked almost agitated now. "Who? Who stabbed you with what, and what did he tell you? I know that you know more than that. If he cornered you, Kamichi, then he would be close enough for you to see."

"I was...panicking. I- I couldn't see very clear."

"_Just TELL me, Kamichi._" Omari hissed, grabbing Kamichi's wrist. "You _can't _just let this go. I _know _that you know, and you're going to have to tell me sooner or later, unless you want to risk being attacked and possibly killed again by the guy who did it the first time."

"It was Haku...but, it sort of wasn't at the same time." Kamichi told her in a whisper.

"_What??!_" Omari's eyes widened even more. "What are you talking about?! What's that supossed to mean?!" She cried.

"It was Hikaru," Kamichi whimpered truthfully. "He invaded Haku's body when they were fighting, and then Hikaru came over to get his second round of revenge this evening. That's why I was so puzzled at first when I saw Haku with the Sword of Darkness."

"It was...Hikaru?!" Omari gasped in horror, her eyes filled with fear. "In Haku's body?! Why...how could he have the hear to-" She was speechless. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be. After all of this relief that the Kingpin Kunais felt when they were told that Hikaru was gone...it was all a lie.

"I knew something was up when you kissed 'Haku'. He looked all blushy and stuff. That was Hikaru you were kissing goodbye, not Haku." Kamichi told her sorrowfully.

Omari would have normally thrown up, just the thought of her being with Hikaru. She remembered how Hikaru had always liked her the best. Hikaru was quite a handsome boy, but wasn't a good person. Omari felt sick, but she had other, more serious things on her mind than a mere kiss. Hikaru was going to kill them.

"Oh, my gosh. How could this have happened? This is...just insane. I just can't believe..." She was saying to herself aloud. She was quite upset, but she felt more thoughtful than upset. She was trying to calculate the clues. How could Hikaru getinside of Haku, and exactly when during the fight had it happened?

While Omari was pondering, Kamichi started to sob. "We were too weak. We failed. We just weren't strong enough...and now we're going to pay for our weakness. We're going to die..." He sniffled, laying back down on his pillow and burying his head under the covers, trembling. There was no doubt that Kamichi was truly afraid now. After all, he had just gotten a little taste of what Hikaru intended to do to them all.

Omari slowly lifted the covers and lay down, too. She squeezed his hand. "It's okay, Kamichi. Don't be afraid. I'll protect you, okay? None of us are going to die. I promise. Just relax and don't be afraid..." She whispered to him.

Kamichi cuddled with her, still crying and shaking. Kamichi felt a sudden flashback, when he was just an infant, of a person just like Omari...Kamichi couldn't quite place that special person that Omari represented, but he'd figure it out.

Kamichi was still sobbing. Omari tried again to comfort him. "Everything will get better soon, Kamichi. I swear that I wont let you get hurt by Hikaru ever again. You're going to be okay, Slicer and Zamu are going to be okay, Tarina and Zabuza will be okay, and Haku will be okay. I'm not letting Hikaru get to them again."

"How...how do you know? How do you know that Hikaru can't just come in right now with Haku's body and kill us both?!" Kamichi sniveled. "He wants to get me. If he finds out that I'm still alive, he'll chop me into one thousand peices with his dark sword and burn my remains." Kamichi didn't know if that was exactly what Hikaru was going to do, but Kamichi was sure that he'd do something quite similar to be sure he was dead.

"No, he wont. I wont let him. He'll have to get through all of us before he gets to you." Omari assured. "We all care about you and love you way too much for anything like that to happen."

_"Mommy..."_ Kamichi whispered to himself, cuddling to Omari even closer, holding onto her. _That's_ what Omari was to Kamichi. Kamichi had finally figured it out Omari was like a mother to him. She was the one who loved him the most and protected him, no matter what Kamichi did to prove himself as a noisy, reckless little boy that had an attitude with anyone who doubted him.

Omari had heard what Kamichi had whispered and was confused for a moment. Mommy? What did that mean? Omari knew that it was impossible for her to be genentically releated to Kamichi. After all, she was only fifteen, and had just turned eleven. But...perhaps Omari's strong and promising words had struck a special nerve inside of Kamichi, one that suddenly made Kamichi feel a special connection torwards her. Omari decided to take his comment as a good thing.

Before Omari could say anything more, Kamichi began to cry out in agony and clutch his stomach with one hand and hold onto Omari with the other.

"What's wrong?!" Stupid question. Omari knew what was wrong with Kamichi. Just thinking about it made her so angry...

"My...my stomach..." Kamichi grunted. "It hurts really, really bad! I think it's bleeding again or something." He let go of Omari and clutched it even harder with both hands and cried even louder. There was no doubt that he was in severe pain. Omari started to feel all choked up again, just watching the poor kid suffer.

"Don't clutch it so hard. You'll make it hurt and bleed even more. Those bandages are there to protect it from infection. You shouldn't mess with it." Omari said.

"Please! Help me, Omari! Get the nurse! Ge the nurse! It hurts!!" Kamichi was sobbing as hard as Omari had ever seen him cry. "Please. It hurts." Kamichi hugged her.

Omari didn't know how to get the nurse when Kamichi was clinging to her, but the poor kid was desaprate. He was aching all over and was found nearly dead when they had gotten back from the meeting. It was shocking that he was even conscious. She hugged him back and kissed him gently on the forehead. "Okay, Kamichi. I'll get the nurse for you. Don't worry. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay..." Kamichi sniffled.

"Okay...just let go of your stomach, relax, and lie down. You'll be okay. I promise. Just relax." She eased his hands away from his gut and gently helped him lay down. Kamichi pulled the covers up to his shoulders and shivered. He was still crying.

Omari quickly and quietly rushed out of the room, off to get the nurse to do something about Kamichi's pain. After she told him, the nurse shook her head in sorrow. "I feel so bad that this happened to such a cute, sweet little guy," The nurse said sadly, while Omari rubbed her temples in worry.

After the nurse shut the door to his room as she went inside, Omari wanted to burst with anger. Hikaru. The stupid jerk that attempted to kill Kamichi like that. The one who she had kissed. The one who stole Haku's body.

Omari wanted to just explode into her monsterous Kekkei Genkai form, hunt Hikaru down and tear him from Haku's body, then rip what was left of Hikaru into shreds. That's how mad she felt. It just wasn't fair. It really wasn't. Hikaru was still out there, out to cause chaos in the Hidden Mist.

Omari grimly noted that this time, Hikaru had gotten back into the village. This time, he wouldn't stop after he killed the Kingpin Kunais. Omari knew that Hikaru wanted power. He would most likely go on in Haku's body, to kill the Mizukage, then reign over the entire Hidden Mist Village. It made Omari enraged.

_That's it. When I find him, there's aboslutley no holding back. _Omari thought, shaking with pure anger._ I'll kill him with all of my strength to pay him back for what he did to the ones I love. Now it's time for me to get my own revenge._


	18. Aftermath: 9: Kamichi's Promise

_**Aftermath: 9: Kamichi's Promise.**_

Kamichi felt so dumb and humiliated. It was now the second night at the stupid hospital, laying in his stupid bed all day long. Nothing good on the TV to watch. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He was so weak. He didn't deserve to be a Kingpin Kunai squad member. He didn't deserve to be a shinobi. He didn't even deserve to live. He should have been dead. If his teammates had arrived one minute later than when they had, Kamichi probably would have been dead.

_Why couldn't they have come an hour late so I wouldn't have to feel this internal and external pain? Why couldn't they have just left me? Hikaru's going to kill me and everyone else anyway. He'll demolish the Hidden Mist. Omari's not gonna do nothin'. It's not like it should matter or anything, right? _Kamichi asked himself. He knew that he shouldn't be thinking of such dark and negative thoughts, but he couldn't help himself.

_Why me?_

Kamichi sighed and flipped the channel on the television with the scratchy, dusty remote with brownish duct tape sealing the battery compartment shut. He turned it to the news channel. Maybe those idiotic goody-goody shinobi back at the Mist were being destroyed by Hikaru right now. Good. There were too many of those good-doers anyway.

Kamichi stared at the television without much movement, not even listening to the broadcast about the booming sales at the new ramen shop downtown. He watched untill he strained his eyes, the flashing, changing colors starting to take him into a deep rest. Kamichi suddenly felt like he needed a catnap. Watching too much TV always made him tired...yes, he needed his rest...

_"We interrupt this news story for a special announcement. There has been sudden attack on individuals in the Hidden Mist. In the last few hours, fifteen jonin were found dead near the Mizukage's house."_

Kamichi's drooping eyes popped open. "Huh?!" He cried, sitting up roughly in bed, ignoring the pain. He was all ears now.

_"The attack took place here in the Hidden Mist, right near the center of the village, by Lord Mizukage's home. Fifteen bodies were found buried in the snow in the past few hours. No cause of the deaths have been identified yet,but it was quite obvious that the attacks came from another shinobi. Blood was found everywhere, and no lightning bolt could have struck fifteen shinobi and killed them, for the weather forecast predicts no storms. Whatever the source of power was, it seems unstoppable. This also may be a serious issue because his could put Lord Mizukage himself in danger." _The news anchor reported in a grave tone.

Kamichi leaped from his bed and stood right at the screen of the TV. He knew that Hikaru was behind this. "No! Forget the stupid Mizukage! Nobody cares about him! What about us?! What about the rest of the villagers?! We're all going to DIE!" He screeched right in the face of the television, wanting the news anchor to hear him, although it was impossible. Tears were streaming down his face. He wished he could have stopped Hikaru in the first place. This was his fault. All his fault.

_"Messages had been written all over te victims' bodies, but the handwriting with pen on the bodies were hard to translate. Of the translated sentences, most of the messages contained profanity and of the things the assassin wanted to do with his next victims. On one body, a list was found of the people that the shinobi wrote that he intended to kill." _The anchor stated from the bright TV screen.

_A murderer's to-do list. I bet that we're on there. _Kamichi thought grimly. _Oh, I forgot. He thinks I'm dead. Wait untill he sees me again. He'll totally tear me apart. I can't wait for that..._ Kamichi gulped as he listened on.

_"The names of the people the murderer has listed and the statements that he or she has made is strictly censored and the news team is not allowed to mention any names. Further news about the messages left will be considered being released tonight. The names of the shinobi killed will be released after eaach family has been notified of this loss. More news will be on this topic by tomorrow morning on our wake up show. Now, here is Kimira Yamurachi with the Hidden Mist's sports news, live, on Channel 12 tonight." _And with that, the news anchor woman was out of the camera's shot, and the attention was turned torwards another news anchor with the sports news.

"Oh...nooo...I can't believe this...I'm gonna die...help me...!" Kamichi squeaked pitifully. He was gasping for breath. Hikaru. That sicko. The whole Hidden Mist Village would be destroyed if some miracle didn't happen soon enough. Just the mere thought of Kamichi being torn to shreds by Hikaru's own nails sent an overwhelming shiver down his spine. Kamichi fainted dead away right onto the floor.

From outside of the room, in the waiting area of the hospital, Omari sat up from her resting position after hearing the thump. She had promised Kamichi that she would stay at the hospital untill he was good enough to go. So far, she had lived up to her promise. Slicer and Zamu stayed almost just as long, but they needed to go back to the hideout once every so often to get everyone changes of clothes and snacks.

Omari got up and walked to Kamichi's door in response to the thump. She slowly opened the door. "Kamichi? You okay in there?" She asked in a quiet, gentle voice. She gasped as she saw Kamichi on the floor, on his stomach, crying and breathing heavily. "Kamichi! What's wrong!? What happened?!"

"...gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me and you, Omari. Nothing can be done. Save me...please..." Kamichi was sobbing. Omari looked down and saw that Kamichi had wet his pants involuntarily. She didn't know why the poor thing was so spooked at first. Omari spotted that Kamichi's TV was actually on. That was a first. Then, she realized with horror that Hikaru had probably done something outrageous and disgusting to get himself noticed on the news. A warning sign. It was telling the Hidden Mist Villagers to run while they could.

Omari ran to go get the nurse once again. The nurse had asked what in the world had happened. Omari didn't want to freak out the kind lady, so she just told her that Kamichi had probably saw something scary on TV, like a horror movie preview. The nurse tsked in sorrow and ran to help Kamichi once again.

Omari knew that Kamichi would never be the same after this. He was definatley scarred for life, physically and mentally. He was spooked. Seen too much for an eleven year old kid. Kamichi was sick and scared out of his mind right about now, and Omari fretted that he would go from a lovable, cute little prankster to an, pity-absorbing, timid, cautious child who would never leave the house.

She had to stop Hikaru. Soon. Whatever Kamichi had jsut seen or heard, Omari knew that it wasn't exactly a good thing. She had to put a stop to all of this. They all had to put a stop to this. Before things got any worse.

_**One Hour Later...**_

Kamichi was now shakily drinking a pleasant mixture of warm milk, honey, and a pinch of vanilla. It somehow helped settle his stomach. It tasted good and sweet. Just how he had always loved. He was also eating a very small bowl of ramen mixed with sushi. He hadn't eaten a bite ever since the horrid attack on him from Hikaru. He was hungry, but he had to eat slowly and carefully. He had also been given some clean clothes. Wetting his pants was embarassing, but Omari told him not to worry about it. Hikaru _was _scary, after all.

Omari, Slicer, Zamu, and the nurse had gotten Kamichi to calm down for a bit. The nurse had also told him that if he kept on breaking down and panicking like this and standing up, he'd increase the level of his damage taken from the serious wound. He had told everything he saw and heard to Omari and the others, who had exchanged worried and disgusted looks, then proceeded to embrace and comfort Kamichi.

Kamichi sat quietly as Omari waited quietly in the chair nearby. Normally, being with Kamichi, she would have started a light conversation to get him motivated again, but now wasn't the time. They were all too scared. The whole Hidden Mist had probably heard of the recent deaths. Omari didn't like to think that they were all going to die, so she tried her best to remain positive. If the Kingpin Kunais could work together, they could accomplish almost everything.

It was true, right?

Omari still wasn't very sure of herself. Did Hikaru somehow know that Kamichi was still alive? Did he really attempt murder, or was he just giving them a warning? Did Kamichi's staying alive and tattling to Omari drive Hikaru even more insane than he was now? Omari wasn't sure that she wanted to know the answer to any of those questions.

A huge crack of thunder exploded in the sky above as a blinding lightning flash showed itself across the Hidden Mist. Heavy, pure snowflakes began to drift from the sky onto the ground. It was the beginning of a snowstorm. It was a bit early for winter weather, but there was almost always chilly weather in the Hidden Mist. Especially the outskirts of the Mist.

Kamichi sat up with a jolt as an even louder crack of thunder burst from the clouds. He used to think that storms were cool, but now, everything was just plain scary. The only thing that he could think of that wasn't scary was Omari, Slicer, Zamu, and possibly the kind, young nurse. Even the thoughts of Tarina and Zabuza were creepy. He imagined Tarina being tortured back in the spirit world by that monster of a shinobi kid. Myabe she was being killed right now. Maybe Zabuza or Tarina were already dead. He couldn't even turn on the television.

As Kamichi sat up, Omari stood up and sat on the bed with him. She eased him back down again. "It's okay, Kamichi. Everythings gonna be fine. Don't worry about everything. If it's okay with the nurse, I'll sleep in here tonight. That way, in case you ever get scared, I'll be there to comfort you." She assured him softly, patting him on the head. It felt a bit awkward to be this gentle to Kamichi, but he needed some serious attention.

"But...that's the problem. That's what is making it worse." Kamichi whispered.

"Huh?" Omari was dumbfounded.

Kamichi slightly sat up to face her again. He spoke in a tougher voice than from two days ago. He now sounded almost normal. "You see, it's not helping my condidtion if you guys are babying me to death in this cozy little bed. It's making it even worse. I mean, it's not like you guys are doing anything bad, but I think I've had enough time to recover. It's time to get back out there. As a shinobi. I'm making a promise to myself. To never be a coward in the face of death again."

Omari gulped and stared at Kamichi disbelievingly. "What?! But-...but...you're not..."

"I know my wound is still pretty bad, but ninja have to learn how to deal with pain. I just can't sit around untill my belly stops hurting. That takes forever. I'm scarred for life. I know that I'll never mentally get over it untill Hikaru is gone. You know that too, Omari. I know it." Kamichi looked straight into her dark eyes.

Omari just stared at him in a respectful, yet worried manner. "I...understand. I'll...tell the nurse that you really want to go back to your normal career, okay?" She said uneasily.

"Ok." Kamichi smiled slightly, the first time Omari had seen his cute little smile in a long time.

"However!" Omari said. "You have to stay at least one more night. We have to be sure that you're completley okay. You...you sure about this? I mean, I really don't think..."

"I want to fight Hikaru. Before he destroys our entire village. After all, we're a team. And what's our team without the number one joker to keep us all going?" Kamichi smiled again.

Omari felt herself smiling, too. "You're right. Maybe you should come. But...you're sure about thi-"

"Don't worry about me, Omari!" Kamichi said. "We have too many other things to worry about, like, where to find Hikaru." He said excitedly. Even though it hurt to sit up, Kamichi was sure that he could help out. Shinobi had to deal with pain, no matter what a doctor said to him.

"...Okay. I trust you that you're able to come with us tomorrow to fix things. But, promise me this. You have to get plenty of rest for tomorrow. That means that you can't stay up too late tonight..."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Kamichi said in a rush. He was too excited about tomorrow. His sudden motivation suprised Omari a bit, but hey, Kamichi was one tough and strange cookie. After all, he hadn't even seen another enemy ninja ever since the previous fight with Hikaru. He was dying for another mission. Enough was enough. He was tired of being the babied one on the team. Especially if it meant getting revenge on that creep for all the damage he had done.

"So, you don't need me to stay in here with you tonight?" Omari asked, starting to gather up her few belongings that Slicer had delivered to her.

"Nope. That's okay." There was a sudden grin on Kamichi's face. "That is, unless _you're _the one who's too afraid to sleep by yourself in the waiting room." He cackled.

Omari smiled back sarcastically. "Oh, yeah. I'm real scared of the storm." She walked over and briefly hugged Kamichi goodnight. "Goodnight, Kamichi. Get some sleep. It'll be a long day tomorrow, okay? Remember, it's not for certain that we'll be on some death-defying Hikaru mission tomorrow, okay? Tomorrow's mission is just to investigate the village for clues. No big fights or anything. That's why I'm letting you come with us. Got that?"

"Sure, Omari. Goodnight." Kamichi yawned and slipped under his covers.

Omari smiled slightly and flicked off Kamichi's hospital room light. She left the door slightly ajar as she went to go meet Zamu and Slicer, who were also given permission to stay overnight. Zamu was dozing, but Slicer had gotten his sleep earlier in the day.

"Is Kamichi okay?" Slicer asked Omari with concern, obviously not hearing what was going on in Kamichi's room five minutes ago.

"Yep. I think he'll be okay. I'm letting him come on our little investigation tomorrow. He's really excited. It's not gonna be a dangerous mission after all. Why not let the kid go? I mean, I would feel bad if we left him behind, anyway."

Slicer smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Yup. That's our Kamichi. He's always ready for anything. No matter what he's been put through for the last couple of days, he's still ready to go on."

_**...The Next Morning...**_

Kamichi had been tossing and turning quite a bit last night, but he had gotten an appropriate amount of sleep for the night Seven or eight hours seemed to be enough.

Kamichi began to stretch his tired and still weakened body. Ten seconds later, Omari burst into the room, alarmed, fully dressed into clothes for a normal day. Her bag was packed and strapped to her back. "Kamichi!" She cried out in alarm. "Something terrible has happened. If you want to see, you better come now. I got your Dark Kunai for you. Unless you want to stay here and rest more, that is."

"What?! What is it?!" Kamichi sat up worriedly and rubbed his eyes. He would have quickly gotten dressed out of his hospital clothing right there, but Omari was standing in the doorway. He checked the time. He had missed the morning news. Perhaps something else happened overnight and was announced on the television.

"You'll see. It's...too long and hard of a story to tell right now. Just...get dressed. It's okay, Kamichi, I not going to peek at you or anything. Just hurry." Omari urged him and shut the door. She turned to face the wall.

Kamichi blushed and hesitiated before starting to get himself dressed. He was sensitive about these situations, but it didn't matter to Omari. This seemed important. "Fine. Just...don't look at me, okay?" He begged desperatley as Omari nodded in a hurry. "So, what's this about, anyway? What happened?!"

"He practically demolished the whole village overnight!" Omari cried out. "This was only one of the buildings left standing. He blew up, like, thirteen buildings after eliminating the people inside. Rogue ninja or not, we have to ckeck this out. You didn't hear those faint explosions last night?"

"I...I thought that it was just thunder. I didn't know it was Hikaru..." Kamichi said in shock, quivering slightly, almost losing his balance.

"Kamichi, please hurry before every single news team around the world finds out and arrives. We really don't have time to ponder on this. You done yet?" Omari hissed impatiently and started to turn around.

"Yeah, almost done." Kamichi finished putting on the clean shirt that Zamu had gotten for him overnight. Omari waited impatiently for Kamichi to sit down on the bed and put his shoes on. He started to put on the left shoe on his right foot.

_Stupid kids When they're in a rush, they're clueless. _Omari growled inside of her head as she ran over, took Kamichi's left shoe from his hand, and slipped it on his left foot. She put the right shoe on just in case there would be any trouble in that. She quickly tied both of them in twenty seconds, then grabbed Kamichi's arm and pulled him out of the door.

Slicer and Zamu were waiting for him. They had frightened and fretful looks on their faces and rushed to the exit. Slicer called out to the nurse nearby. "Thank you so much for helping Kamichi. He really wouldn't have pulled through without you. Sorry we gotta go so soon, but we're out to investigate here."

"Wait!" The young nurse cried, racing after them. "Are you sure Kamichi's okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine! Thanks again, lady!" Kamichi called back to her, with the four of them now racing to the heart of the village. They still hid their bandannas from sight. They would surely be arrested of people knew who they were. Slicer kept his sword back in it's sheath.

Once they reached the center of the village, where many people were looking around and mourning, they gasped. The whole village looked horrid. Signs were knocked down, ashes were everywhere mixed with the beautiful snow. A burnt skull was spotted nearby. The bakery, the ramen shop, over half of the plaza- it was gone. Demolished.

"What kind of monster could have done this to our village?" The Mizukage stood nearby them, gazing sadly at the remains of the gift shop. He turned to the Kingpin Kunais, not knowing that they were one of the most feared and powerful squads in the Hidden Mist. The bandannas said it all, and none of them were wearing the bandannas. "You kids wouldn't know anything about this disaster, would you?"

"Um...no, Lord Mizukage. We don't know anything." Zamu gulped, looking down at his shoes, which were lightly kicking the huge piles of ash nearby.

"...Hey, haven't I seen you three before? Do I know you guys?" The Mizukage asked suspiciously, looking at Omari, Slicer, and Zamu. Of course the Mizukage knew them. Just not in a very friendly way. Even though this wasn't a good situation, Kamichi was still jealous that he wasn't known for his awesome shinobi skills as well as his teammates.

"Hey, I know those guys!" A sudden voice from behind them called out, before Omari could answer.

The Kingpin Kunais cringed. "I hope it's not one of our 'adoring fans'." Omari hissed in a worried whisper. "Oh, gosh, what if we're caught?"

Everyone turned. To Kamichi, Omari, Zamu, and Slicer's relief, it was the nurse that had been taking care of Kamichi. "I know these ninja. They were the nice folk who brought in this little guy." She pointed at Kamichi. "His name is Kamichi. He had a really bad injury from a battle or something."

Kamichi was sure lucky that he was a new member of the team, otherwise, Kamichi's name could have sparked something in the Mizukage's brain. "Oh. Greetings, Nurse Yimiyra." He said. The Mizukage looked at Kamichi. "Ah. I see. A battle, huh? Well, I hope you get well soon, Kamichi. Carry on." The Mizukage nodded at the group, walking away to talk to a nearby jonin about the village being at stake. Everyone could tell that the Mizukage was trying to remain calm and take this one step at a time. He had been a Kage for thirty-five years, and never has anything like this happened under his rule.

"What are you doing here, Nurst Yimiyra?" Omari asked the nurse curiously.

"There are still those people in need of my help. Some were attacked, but didn't get killed. I'm required to go and help them." The nurse explained softly, bowing her head. "Now please excuse me. I must be leaving now. Duty calls." She began to leave

"Wait a sec." Omari lightly touched her arm. Nurse Yimiyra turned. "Do you have any idea which direction Smogstone Cave is, just past here?" She asked the nurse.

Omari's teammates seemed very confused. Omari seemed to know what she was doing, though. The nurse smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes. I do. It's just about a half-mile past of where the bakery used to be. You just go straight ahead. I don't think any trouble has been caused around there, just so you know. Does that help you?" Nurse Yimiyra asked.

Omari bowed. "Thank you, very much. We appreciate all of your help. We'll come visit you at the hospital sometime, okay? We better get going, too." She said, slightly guesturing for her teammates to get ready to rush to Smogstone Cave.

"Okay. I hope to see you again soon. Get well, Kamichi. You four should stay out of trouble and stay safe, okay?" The nurse smiled again and started to make a hand sign.

"The same goes for you, Nurse Yimiyra. Stay safe. Thans again." Omari told her, and the kind nurse quickly disappeared in a puff of smoke, off to help the remaining villagers, if they already hadn't run away or had been killed.

"Let's GO!" Omari started to run in the direction in which the nurse had told her to go.

Slicer, Zamu, and Kamichi tagged along. Kamichi was a bit behind, but was able to run. Slicer finally spoke up. "What is it? Why are we going to Smogstone Cave? I don't get it."

"We're traveling in the path of Hikaru's destruction. It started back there, and it went straight ahead. Didn't you see a couple of those buildings on the side of the village that were barely touched? That's why we weren't killed. The hospital is on the outskirts, which is why we weren't touched. This has to be the direction he ran. I know that this path leads to Smogstone Cave. This has to be it. After the cave, then you enter the Hidden Waterfall, which Hikaru has no reason to be in." Omari puffed.

"What about world domination?" Zamu asked. "He could be after the whole world, you know."

"Nah. Hikaru's clever, and I think he knows that he's not ready for something as big as that. He's powerful, but clearly outnumbered. There's him against the whole world. That's not very goos odds. Hikaru knows that he's not the best shinobi. Maybe someday, but Hikaru knows that he'll have to start out small." Slicer said.

"Omari! You said...we...wouldn't...see...Hikaru!" Kamichi cried in a desperate, worn out tone. Everyone could see that he was already running out of energy.

"Don't worry. We're just looking for clues to see if he's been there. I doubt that he'll be there." Omari said as Slicer started to give Kamichi a piggyback ride to the cave.

"You sure?!" Kamichi whimpered.

"To tell you the truth, no. I'm not sure at all. But, hey, I swore to you that I'll protect you with my life." Omari said bravely.

After about two more munutes of running at full speed past the destruction and horrors spread in flames across the mostly destroyed Hidden Mist, they had finally reached Smogstone Cave.

Smogstone Cave was one of the prettiest and most peaceful-looking places on the inside. When Omari was small, she and Tarina used to go out occasionally to sit inside of the cave and chat. Even the traces of chalk graffiti left inside made it feel warm and home-like. Now, it could be a potential place of disaster.

Omari silently led the way inside of the large, deep cave. Kamichi clung to her while Zamu and Slicer stuck pretty close together, but had no facial sign of true fear. There were two tunnels that divided the cave. Both weren't very long and endless tunnels. Omari knew this entire cave inside and out. Nothing could go wrong. She led the group into the left tunnel.

Omari whipped a small flashlight and a kunai from her pocket to assure safety. She flicked the flashlight switch and it gave off a dim glow. Dim, but useful. If it died, Zamu had new batteries in his pack. They were going to be okay. They were going to be...

"Hello, my dear Omari. Have you come for another kiss?"

Kamichi's eyes widened as he kid instinctively behind Omari, who was squeezing his arm so hard, he almost cried. They knew that voice.

Slicer and Zamu inched closer to Omari. Zamu drew his kunai and Slicer drew his sword. They heard that fmailiar, sinister voice cackle again. It was the same voice from the person who had nearly torured Tarina to death. The same voice from that person who destroyed and killed many in one night. Set the village on fire. It was the same voice from that person who wanted to demolish them all.

Omari whipped the light around to see Hikaru walking around in Haku's body, smiling at them. It barely looked like Haku now. Haku's eyes were a different color, he was dressed in comletley different and more evil-looking clothes, and his hair was down and a bit messier. Omari hated to see this. She really hated to see poor Haku put up with this jerk, this sick, evil shinobi...

"No. I didn't come here for that, you sicko."

"Why not, my honey? Haven't you forgotten that I'm your boyfriend?" Hikaru was grinning wildly. He knew that Omari knew he was a fraud.

Hikaru could gleefully hear Haku's spirit and brain inside of him, screaming. _GET OUTTA MY BODY!!_ Hikaru felt like giggling every time he heard Haku's desperate screams.

"You make me sick, Hikaru. You have some nerve coming back her and destroying buildings and taking over Haku's body, you know that? I've never liked you, and I never ever will. I hate you, Hikaru. You're going to pay for the damages you've done to our team."

Kamichi was cowering in fear behind Omari, so he couldn't be seen. Then he remembered his promise. The promise. It was taking effect right now. He had vowed to overcome all of his fears. With all of his courage, he stepped out from behind Omari and spoke up. Just the sight of Hikaru in Haku's body made his knees wobble. "That's right. We're not going to let you take over our village. We may be rogue ninja and have killed many people in our lives, but we're not exactly ex-shinobi. This is our home."

Hikaru looked almost shocked at Kamichi. But there was more anger than shock. "Oh. So, you're the little runty goony tattletale who ratted me out, huh? To Omari?" He took a step forward, and smirked. There was no doubt that he was feeling pretty bloodthirsty right about now.

"Umm...I, uh..." Kamichi tried his best not to fall over on his knees and beg for Hikaru's mercy. Hikaru was capable of easily killing him.

But Omari wasn't about to let that happen.

Omari drew her icicle kunai and put the other one away. She held it at the ready. "Don't you dare lay a finger on Kamichi!" She growled threateningly.

Hikaru grinned and shook his head. "You think that you can beat me? That you can stop me from ripping every vein from the kid's body? Try it and see what happens." Hikaru suddenly grew fangs and huge claws. Large, mammal-like, shaggy ears replaced Haku's normal ones. He didn't look that scary, because it was Haku's body, but he sure looked dangerous. Omari took a small step back at the deformed version of Hikaru/Haku.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" Hikaru growled in a completley different voice. "You afraid?"

Omari gulped, but still held the kunai. Hikaru charged. Omari held the kunai out in front of her, thinking that it would impale Hikaru. She closed her eyes, but felt no impact or spurting of blood. When she opened them, Hikaru was suddenly charging at Kamichi.

Omari screamed as Kamichi screamed. Hikaru was as fast as ever and was chasing poor Kamichi, down on all fours. Kamichi knew that he couldn't make it. He was going to die unless he fought. He had to do something. Some sort of defense needed to be put up. Something.

Kamichi quickly formed a solid rock sheild over himself as Hikaru tackled him to the ground.

"You think that stupid, ammatuer sheild can protect you?!" Hikaru cackled, although it sounded more like a screaming hyena laugh. He took one huge claw and ripped the sheild from Kamichi's body, which lightly slashed his cheek. Kamichi almsot threw up when he saw the crazed, demented Hikaru lick the blood from his hands and let it drip from his mouth.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh! Omariiiii! Save meeee! Please! I'm a coward! I can't fight! I give up! Just don't eat me! I'm begging you!" Kamichi screamed at the top of his lungs. He had screamed a scream he didn't even know he had. It was louder than when he was attacked by the tracker dog, louder when he had first lost to Haku in a sparring match, louder than when Omari had involintarily hit him, louder than when Hikaru had sent him to that bizarre monster world...

Hikaru just laughed in a metallic, loud, crazy laugh that Kamichi could tell was the kind of laugh that wanted to rip his bones to shreds. Hikaru stopped laughing, but grinned at him with a blood-covered mouth. His skin had turned a shade of light blue. "Don't worry, kid. This wont take very long. Hey, I tried to get rid of you with the Sword of Darkness, but I guess that didn't work out well, did it? This is just a small price to pay for all of your tattling trouble." He raised his bloody, sharp claw once more over Kamichi's head. It looked bigger and sharper than ever.

Kamichi squeezed his eyes shut. He was sobbing, crying, praying for it to all end. He knew that Hikaru was lying. It wouldn't be a short experience. It would be a long, sad, painful, overwhelming, numbing attack that would almost never end. A miserable death.

Just as Hikaru was about to slash him to death, something hard and powerful rammed into Hikaru and sent him flying to the wall of the cave. Hikaru turned. It was Omari, or...

"What is that?!" Hikaru yelped in shock.

Omari looked just the way she did when she fought Naruto- only much stronger and muscular. She had grown strange, shaggy, rabbit-like ears. It didn't look the least bit funny, because she _was_ a rabbit. She had somehow grown blue fur all over her body with black marking across her back and one different yellow symbol still floating in her dark eyes. Three horns were on top of her head. She had a tail. The chakra glow around her was a golden yellow. That wasn't Omari.

_"I SAID, leave him alone!!" _The monster screeched in a mixture of Omari and a monster's voice. She drew out her shining black claws and faced Hikaru.

"Aaaargh!" Hikaru screamed, charging torwards Omari. "You're...NOT...stronger than me! I'll kill you with one blow, you goon!" Hikaru yelled, drawing one huge claw.

Omari dogded out of the way just in time and then grabbed him by the neck. She tried to claw him in the stomach, but Hikaru kicked her and made a break for Kamichi once again. Kamichi screamed as Hikaru snapped at his arm. He missed. Hikaru grabbed Kamichi's neck with one huge hand, took out a kunai, and revealed Kamichi's fragile and bandaged stomach. He raised the kunai over Kamichi's stomach.

Kamichi created a rock shield just in time. The kunai bounced off of the sheild, but Hikaru dropped the kunai and ripped the sheild off of Kamichi's body again. Kamichi rolled, and jumped to his shaking feet again. Hikaru grabbed Kamichi's arm all of a sudden and sunk his fangs right into it just to torture the poor boy.

Kamichi screamed in pain and shock, sweat and tears trickling down his frightened and pained face. "Don't bite off my arm! Don't bite my arm! Pleeeaaasse!" Kamichi was screeching as loud as he could, using up what seemed to be all of the sound left in his larynx. Hikaru grabbed the arm that he was torturing with both hands and started to snap it.

"Ooooowww! Heeeeellllllppp! Help me! Aaaahhh!" Kamichi squeaked out, sobbing even harder. The pain was amazing. The fact that the pain usually comes in a few minutes after you get your arm broken and bitten severley, but in Kamichi's mind, those scientists were dead wrong.

"This is what you get for messing with me, little boy!" Hikaru screamed gleefully. "This is exactly how it ends! You get tortured to death!" Blood was dripping from his fangs and face, and Kamichi's arm was, too. Kamichi had finally passed out from the pain and fright. Hikaru laughed again and leaned over Kamichi's limp form, ready for the kill.

"No! Leave him alone, Hikaru! Leave him alone! I'll kill you!" The monsterous Omari roared, charging once again, puching Hikaru in the side of the head. Hikaru fell back, and Omari tried to jump on him, but Hikaru kicked her in the stomach. The giga-form of Omari screeched in anger and frusteration and punched him three times in the face, all in a row, fast and furiously. She kicked him into the air.

Suddenly, that last kick struck a real Omari nerve. _I can't become like that idiotic, stupid , ugly, uneducated, uncontrollable moron like Naruto. I just can't._ _What if I'm hurting Haku? What if I'm about to...I can't bear to see..._

The monster's nerves were struck even harder as Hikaru weakly stood once more, blood dripping heavily and thicky from his nose. It was a gross sight to see all of this happen in Haku's body, but something had to be done.

As Hikaru was about to make his next move, Omari suddenly bolted over slammed him into a wall and held him there, storing up every once of energy she could. _Remember, Omari. You're NOT going to kill Hikaru. You are not a Naruto. You're a pure friend trying to save the one you love. I...hope I can pull this off without getting out of control...focus on the Golden Chakra...concentrate..._

Omari swung her right hand at Hikaru, which was wide open, fingers clawed. Hikaru thought she was going to tear his face off or something, but Omari somehow reached into his stomach with her glowing, golden hand, and ripped Hikaru from Haku's body in an instant without warning.

She took the gooey, limp boy from Haku's body and threw him roughly onto the ground, breathless. She let go of Haku, and fell, suddenly feeling woozy. Haku stumbled for a second, then fell, too.

Zamu screamed out, "Omari!" He and Slicer stopped clinging to the cave wall and ran over to the four limp figures, each one heavily breathing.

Omari was slowly changing back to normal size, shape, and species, and they could tell that she had used up everything she had to save Kamichi and Haku.

Slicer bent down and slightly shook Omari. "Omari. Wake up. Are you okay? Please tell me that you're okay." He whispered frantically. Omari mumbled something that was either a foriegn language from a clan, or perhaps it was just gibberish talk from what she had went through for the past ten minutes.

Hikaru was the first to recover. He sat up, looking as small and as normal as ever. He was covered with some sort of thick, clear goo. Plasma, maybe. Whatever body fluid it was, it was disgusting. "Heeeyyy!" He screeched, looking at his normal body in horror. "Look at this! Look what you did to me, Omari, you loser!" He pointed at Omari, taking a big step torwards her unconscious form.

"Back off!" Slicer stood up and threatened Hikaru with his sword.

Hikaru wasn't powerless, but he didn't want to start a big battle. But, who cared now? He was going to be the new ruler of this village soon, whether he had Haku's body or now. "Shoot! That Crystal Ice Mirror Attack was really going to help me out! I...must...kill them all! I have to kill them!" He clumsily shoved past Slicer to get to Haku, who was waking up. Hikaru and Haku weren't exactly alive, and not exactly hollograms, either. They were somewhat in-between. Spirits, but more realistic than ever.

Haku sat up, covered in his own body's plasma as well. He stood to face Hikaru, enraged. "What is wrong with you?!" He screamed. "You're completley power-hungry and bloodthirsty! Litterally!" He pointed at Kamichi's bitten, broken, and swollen arm. Haku shoved him to the ground.

Omari sat up and looked around the room. "It...it worked." Omari whispered to herself. Then, her brain finally caught up with the situation at hand. She stood up and joined the semicircle formed around Hikaru, who was laughing to himself like a total lunatic.

"I still have...one...more...source..." Hikaru giggled gleefully. His hair was wild, his eyes were bulging and his pupils were huge and happy-looking. He suddenly zipped around the room faster than ever, like he had just drank three quarts of chocolate milk. Nobody could even follow him with their eyes. Nobody knew why he was running around the room. Haku and Omari felt like something was now missing from their pockets.

Hikaru held up four kunais in his hand. The stone kunai, the dark kunai, the icy glass kunai, and the golden kunai. One he wore around each finger like a ring. He must have snatched up Kamichi's too.

"Hey! Those are ours! Give them back! Now!" Omari yelled threateningly, still tired and worn from her power displayed earlier. The Golden Chakra was much more complex than the Red Chakra, which only had to do with violence and revenge. The Golden Chakra had to do with strength, magic, and darkness. It looked good on the outside, but could really do very horrible things in reality.

"No way. You goons don't even know what I can do with these, do you?" Hikaru laughed.

Everyone looked angry and dumbfounded at the same time.

"Of course you don't. Two words: World Domination!" Hikaru cackled. He held up his hands. "I can control the five villages and destroy the Five Kage with these babies together, don't you understand?"

Omari, Slicer, Zamu, and Haku all stared at him in horror and in wonder. "What?!" Haku cried.

"That's right, goon. I don't need your muscles or jutsu thrown into it either! It'll all work out okay..." Hikaru giggled in a crazed tone. Then he pointed at Kamichi, who was still knocked out. "He'll be the first one on my list, too! Hoo-boy, I can't wait to get my claws on that kid! Oh, yeah! If you loony goons wanna watch me take over, you're more than welcome to watch and come to my castle! And I'll give you each a free assasination as well!" He said, which sent a small shiver down everyone's spine.

Before anyone could reply to his jumbled sounding, horrible words, Hikaru made a hand sign and disappared in a puff of smoke. He was gone.

_**Go to The Next Chapter!!**_

_**Gory story, huh? And "loony goons"? Yeah, Hikaru's totally snapped, and there's nothing the Kingpin Kunais can do about it. The next part is the journey to Hikaru's Castle! I'm not exactly a Hikaru fan, but he's okay. In case you haven't noticed, his favorite word is "goon". In case there are any crazy Hikaru fangirls out there, I'll give you a slight description of who he really is.**_

_**Hikaru. **_

_**Name: Um...Hikaru.**_

_**Status: Ex-Kingpin Kunai Member/Loonatic**_

_**Bandanna Color: Dark Gray**_

_**Date of Birth: October 24th.**_

_**Original Eye Color: Dark Gray (amazing.)**_

_**Favorite Color: Dark Gray (oh my gosh.)**_

_**Favorite Former Kingpin Kunai Member: Omari**_

_**Reason: Crush**_

_**Least Fav. Kingpin Kunai Member: Zamu**_

_**Reason: He's a worried tattletale who knows too much.**_

_**Favorite Food: Everyone likes ramen!**_

_**Least Favorite Food: He doesn't like anything seafood-ish.**_

_**Favorite Jutsu: Underground Tornado of Oblivion**_

_**Goals: Go World Domination!**_

_**Quote: "Shut up, you stupid goon!"**_

_**Craziest Thing He's Ever Said: "Loony Goon" (Duh!)**_

_**Favorite Weapon: The Sword of Darkness**_

_**Favorite Defense: None**_

_**Strengths: His physical and mental strength, his IQ, and never-give-up quality**_

_**Weaknesses: The Light Sword, Kamichi's sickness, and he can also be a bit too crazy sometimes.**_

_**Closing Comments: Um...he says "goon" too much, and Haku can beat him up (no offense, fans)**_

_**BYE!!!! THE NEXT CHAPTER IS A SHOCKER, SO JUST WAIT AND SEE!!**_


	19. Aftermath: 10: Skyvoid Tower

_**Aftermath: 10: Skyvoid Tower**_

Omari was crying in Haku's arms as everyone was gathered around poor Kamichi, who was now awake. He was sobbing in pain of his arm. Hikaru was gone for now, but there troubles were obviously not over. They had all seen just how insane Hikaru was in reality. That little spar before all of this, back in the spirit world, didn't do them any good at all. Their previous efforts were just worthless.

"I'm so sorry, Kamichi. I can't believe this happened. I swore that I would protect you..." Omari whimpered softly as Kamichi looked and grimaced at his throbbing arm.

"You did." Kamichi said softly. "You did protect me. I...I wasn't killed, was I? It's okay." He tried to sound brave and supportive, but his voice was shaky. Being munched on by a crazed, monsterous shinobi wasn't very much fun.

"Omari..." Haku whispered to her. "Thank you. I'm so grateful that you got Hikaru out of there. It was enraging watching you all being ripped apart by that disgusting moron. I'm...sorry you had to go through all of that..." Everyone could tell that Haku was in shock as well from the experience.

Omari was still crying. She was still disgusted with herself about letting Kamichi get hurt. "I'm so sorry, Kamichi. I can't believe that I let you get hurt like this. Look at your right arm. It's broken and cut to the bone. Look at your stomach. It's gotta be hurting right about now. I couldn't keep my promise to you."

A few tears trickled down Kamichi's face. "I...I broke my promise, too. I gave up and didn't keep fighting for myself. Your promise depended on my promise. If I just could have kept mine...you could have kept yours, Omari. It's all my fault. I don't deserve to be a ninja. I'm just a big, stupid fraidy-cat." He said.

"That's not true, Kamichi. You were pretty brave for a while there. I mean, Hikaru doesn't count for being brave. That guy can scare anyone." Haku told him softly.

They all stayed quiet for a moment while Zamu was rummaging for something in his bag. Zamu hobbled back to them with a bottle of rubbing alchohol for cleaning out Kamichi's wound.

Kamichi's nose wrinkled at the stinging, bitter smell of the cleaning alchohol. He hated that stuff. It hurt. And who knows how much pain it would bring this time, with a gash this big?

Zamu saw the worried look on Kamichi's face and sighed as he took out a small cloth and dabbed it with the liquid. He always was the Kingpin Kunai member to take care of these sort of things. "I'm really sorry about this, Kamichi, but we have to be safe and rational here. I mean, who knows if Hikaru has some sort of poison in his fangs or something? You could get infected by an open wound, anyway. Just hold still."

Kamichi winced when he felt the stinging liquid come in contact with his cut, feeling the acid-like stuff beginning to clean out the wound. He felt the tears come to his eyes, but wouldn't let them come out.

"You shouldn't have anything to feel bad about, Kamichi. We weren't even supossed to find Hikaru here. We thought that he was smart enough to hide somewhere that wasn't so obvious. I'm the one who should be sorry." Omari said softly.

Those tears really wanted out...

Omari saw Kamichi sniffling and weakly patted his back. "Please, Kamichi. Don't cry. Everything will be-" Her words were choked off by her own depressed feelings. Her throat was filling up, too. Everything wasn't exactly going to be okay. It could get even worse.

Kamichi let the tears roll softly down his scratched-up cheeks. That stung, too, along with the cleaning wound.

Haku looked around at the depressed group. He didn't want to make it worse by saying that Tarina and Zabuza were probably in captivity or blown-up by now, so...

"Everything will get better, you guys. I'll fight him, too. We've always made an unstoppable team, right? I'm sure we'll find a way to overcome this maniac and make sure he never comes back again. Also, I know the way to his castle." Haku said, trying to slowly repair Omari and Kamichi's confidence. No luck. Slicer and Zamu were looking pretty bad, too.

After a few beats, Kamichi replied, "Well, of course we're going to continue to fight, Haku. We can't just sit here and do nothing while Hikaru destroys everyone and everything." There was still tears and self-pity lingering in his small, childish voice.

"I...just don't know what we can do anymore without someone getting badly hurt..." Omari whispered sadly, shaking her head.

Everyone sat in silence again. The only sound was Zamu removing the cloth and sticking gauze pads to Kamichi's arm. Everyone was in deep thought of how in the world they were going to fight back. They knew that Kamichi's arm was pretty bad, but Kamichi refused to leave himself out or be babied by the other teammates. It was an unfair thing to do.

Haku decided to break the silence again, tensedthat his friends were so scared and shaken by Hikaru. "You know, Hikaru's castle is a very large place. I've seen it before after Hikaru took my body, because he led me there to gather his weapons and such. There's only one big door that you can go in, which is always locked, and you need a key to get in. I think a spare one's hidden outside or something. In one of the bricks."

"Interesting," Omari looked up from the ground. "Sounds like it's a castle full of those stupid scary mysteries to them. The ones that are too high to get to the top unless you coud fly."

"Indeed, it is." Haku nodded. "Kind of fun-looking if it weren't so spooky. Anyways, besides that enterance, there's an open went in Hikaru's room. One of us might be able to crawl through, but..." His voice cut off, as if he had just thought of something disturbing.

"What?" Slicer pressed.

"I have a plan." Haku said carefully. "But...I don't think we can go through with. It's way too risky."

"What is it?" Omari asked. "You can just tell us what's on your mind. If it's too risky, maybe we can modify it a bit."

Haku shook his head.

Kamichi looked up at Haku and smiled pleadingly, finally cheering up a bit. This was getting interesting. "Puh-leeease? I'm sure it's not that bad. You can share anything with me. For all you know, it could be a totally awesome plan with no one getting hurt! Just tell us."

Haku looked down at little Kamichi and sighed. _But it does mean that someone has to be hurt. _He longed to tell Kamichi. _It involves you specifically getting hurt. Possibly killed. I...can't let you voluntarily let yourself get hurt like that if we went through with my plan._

"Please?" Omari asked. "If it was too risky, it's not like we would kill you or anything. We'll vote on it, whatever it is. We're in desperate need of a plan to overthrow that guy. You could be the one to help us."

Haku glanced at Kamichi once more, who was now sitting comfortably next to him. He then looked back at the more matured side of the group. "Fine. I'll explain it to you. But, don't count on using this plan for battle, okay?" Everyone nodded, so Haku took a deep, shaky breath and told his friends what was on his mind.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"Come on, now! Just one more of these Ultra Kunais...and then I can rule the world!" Hikaru whispered furiously. "Why isn't it working?! I can't create the Light Kunai! I don't get it. I'm in the sky! After all, Skyvoid Tower is elevated like, a million feet in the air! This is the height of where I should be able to create a Light Spirit Sheild and the kunai! Why the heck isn't it working?!"

Tarina smiled from her cage, along with Zabuza. "It wont work because you don't put in the real effort that comes from the heart. Also, only kind, caring people can create such a thing. A person in between those two can make both a Light and Dark Kunai, and a completley evil person can only create a Dark Kunai or Spirit Sheild. Too bad for you." She shrugged.

They were now at the top of Skyvoid Tower, on the balcony just out of Hikaru's room. If someone fell off the balcony to the thousands of feet below, then they would surely die. It was just below the stratosphere, so mostly any human could breathe if they had good lungs. The tower was hidden somewhere in the clouds, and was almost impossible to find. Hikaru had once again captured Tarina and Zabuza, but didn't torture or kill them. Yet.

Hikaru was crazier than ever, and his claws had grown back for good. His fangs came out whenever he wanted, and he didn't have them drawn now. Hikaru was now irritating himself by trying to make a Light Kunai from holding out into the air on the balcony and summoning as much good chakra to his hands as possible. As it turned out, there was none to summon, but Hikaru didn't believe that. He had to do this. The four Ultra Kunais so far were made, but this last one would create the item that any power-hungry shinobi wanted. Hikaru did't exactly know what it was, but he wanted it.

"You!!" Hikaru briskly walked over to the cage and shoved the kunai into Tarina's hands. "You make it for me."

"I don't know how." Tarina frowned.

"Yuh-huh! Yes, you do! I know you do. You're a goody-two-shoes leader. I KNOW you can." Hikaru insisted, shoving it even farther in her hands. "Please, Tarina, just do it for me. We were teammates, right? If you do it, I wont eliminate you or Zabuza."

Tarina honestly didn't want to live when her whole village would die, and she didn't want to help Hikaru. But, what was the use now? And so, Tarina tried to make the Light Kunai. If it happened, it happened. Tarina tried as hard as she could, but...there just wasn't enough. She wasn't exactly the kindest ninja around. She could probably only make a weak Light Spirit Sheild, let alone the kunai.

"What's wrong?!" Hikaru growled when he saw that Tarina was making absolutley no progress.

"I can't do it. Honestly." Tarina told him, slightly glad that she didn't have the ability so it could only be forced out of her.

"Aaaargh! Why not?! You're such an imbecile!" Hikaru yelled at Tarina.

"Don't you mean, 'goon'?" Zabuza hooted sarcastically.

Hikaru wanted slash Zabuza across the face, but he didn't want to start trouble. He needed them to cooperate. He sighed and looked at Tarina again. "Please. Just do it. You have to try and work with me here. If you make it, I'll spare one of your stupid teammates, okay?" He bargained.

Tarina sighed sadly and shook her head. "Hikaru, I love you, but I just can't do anything for you right now. I'm too weak from before because of you. You attacked my friends and you nearly killed Kamichi. Even if I wanted to help (which I don't), I can't. I'm not a goody-goody like you say I am. Only good people are capable of making one. Like you said, I'm the one who booted you off the team- physically."

Hikaru glared at his former adult leader. "If you love me, then why can't you do this?! I mean, people who have love in their hearts surely can make a light Kunai, right?" He pressed on.

Tarina put the kunai back in his hands, and looked into his eyes without a trace of anger. She actually looked calm. "You and I both know that I'm a leader of an all-powerful rogue ninja squad. You used to be in it, after all. You and I also both know that the others are probably going to come along and tear you apart for what you're doing."

Hikaru looked almost frightened, but then regiained confidence once more. "Oh, yeah?! You think that they can pull it off without at least one of them getting killed?!"

Tarina shrugged. "I really don't know, but I'm rooting for Omari's side. That's for sure." She then smiled. "Omari's way stronger than you. So is Zamu, Kamichi, Slicer, and Haku. Whether they all get out alive or not, they'll still be with me in my heart. The only one that I know has to stay alive is Omari. To tell the truth, I'm most concerned about her. But don't get me wrong, I deeply love the other guys, too. I've had a special connection with her for years. She's the leader now. She and I are alot alike...I know that she somewhat cares for you, too. Omari just isn't old or experienced enough to recognize her own feelings. Her Kekkei Genkai is too vicious. Maybe one day, she'll realize it after you're defeated."

"Not true!" Hikaru screamed back. "That is SO not true! I'll beat those goons in a heartbeat! You'll see! And then you'll be seeing a big blue seal being stuck to your forehead after I'm done with them! You're all done for!"

Tarina sighed once more. "Tsk, tsk. You're only thirteen years old. I'm an immature acting twenty-two year old girl, and you don't even see me having spastic outbursts like that. When will you learn?"

"Never!" Hikaru grinned, showing Tarina his claws for effect. "Never. You got that, Tarina? I'll never change, not matter what you say. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be in my room on my chair, waiting for those goons to show up and try to attack me. When they come, I'll leave the balcony door open so you guys can watch me rip them to shreds, okay? But, for now, enjoy the cold!"

_**...Back In Smogstone Cave...**_

Everyone stared at Haku in different ways. Slicer looked eager to go along with the plan. Zamu looked worried, as usual. Omari was just staring at Haku in shock and horror. Kamichi looked excited.

"So...what's the vote?" Haku sighed, knowing what the outcome would be. "My vote doesn't count, because I honestly don't know. Who is crazy enough to actually go with my plan?"

Slicer and Kamichi raised their hands. Kamichi was raising both, but Haku still counted it as only two votes.

"Who would rather not go with the plan?"

Omari and Zamu shakily raised their hands.

"So, it's a draw." Haku said quietly. He looked at Omari and nodded, knowing that she wanted to totally flame his plan or something. He would take in her opinion respectfully.

"Okay, discussion time." Omari clapped her hands together and scooted closer into the group. "We...can't go through with this. Haku, I love your detemination and such, but...I don't think it's safe."

"That's all you have to say?" Slicer asked briskly.

"Yes."

"Good points." Kamichi nodded dismissively, knowing that Omari's arguments were desperate and useless. "My turn. M'kay, in my opinion, I strongly suggest that we should go with Haku's plan. I need to do this. I know I might...die, but it'll stall Hikaru and save the Hidden Mist!" He said enthusiastically.

"Wait a sec, so let me get this straight." Zamu held his hands up. "So, Kamichi's gonna climb up to the top of the castle with our help, then crawl inside of that little vent that only he can get through, right? Right before that, he's going to take one of the tracker ninja's medicine from Haku that puts him into a temporary death state in a matter of minutes. Hikaru's sure to be there in the room and try to kill him. This stalls Hikaru for when us four are going to find a way to bust into the castle and fight. Haku, does that seriously sound safe to you? What if Hikaru kills him by the time we get in? What if we can't get in at all? Kamichi will be done for."

"That's why I didn't want to tell you all in the first place." Haku said. "I knew that you guys would say no. I don't even think we should do this unless Kamichi absolutley is willing to take responsibility for this, which I really don't think he should handle. Hikaru's been waiting to get his hands on you, Kamichi."

"I know. Which is what makes it so thrilling. I'll just keep dodging him, and when the pill starts to take effect on me, I'll let him catch me and rough me up a bit, then I'll play dead. I might get hurt, and I might not be able to fight him when you guys get here because I'll be in that state, but it's worth it. It's the perfect plan, I think. I'll play a big part in saving the Hidden Mist. After I've done my part, you all just push me aside and do the rest of the work." Kamichi said.

"But, you'll get killed!" Omari protested. "Hikaru wont stop when you drop down into a temporary death state!"

"Haven't you forgotten?" Slicer said. "Hikaru can even check if Kamichi's alive, and he'll feel no pulse whatsoever. That's what a temporary death state is. It'll wear off, Omari, don't worry. Kamichi doesn't want to be treated like a baby anymore. He'll just have to take a risk."

"But- but...we've put him through too much already! Being stabbed in the gut...having his arm broken and severley bitten...I think he's been though enough for now, don't you think? He's still hurt, remember?" Zamu asked.

"No, I haven't had enough yet. I want to do this. I want Hikaru to feel sorry for what he's done to me. Like I said, after I do my part, you guys do yours and beat up that creep. You guys are smart enough to figure out the tricks of the castle, right?" Kamichi said.

Omari considered this for a moment. There was a moment of silence while everyone waited for the leader to make up the final decision. She looked at Kamichi, who just stared back pleadingly. She then hugged Kamichi. "Okay. I've decided to...let you do your part of the plan. Just...just be careful, okay?"

Kamichi smiled. "Thanks, Omari! I knew that you were cool enough to say yes!"

Omari couldn't help smiling as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just...please. I can't bear to have you hurt. If you die, I don't know what I'll do. I'll seriously fall apart. Try not to kill yourself on this mission, okay? This may be our biggest one yet."

"Okay, Omari."

Haku sighed and bit his lip. This could be one of the biggest mistakes he has ever made. If Kamichi died, it would be his fault, and Omari would practically kill herself. Or him. Haku didn't want to know. "Okay. It's almost noon. I think we'll have plenty of time for me to escort you to the castle. I'll be there to help you all the way, you guys. Don't forget that." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny capsule- the item that he had used as a trainer's item in the tracker's academy. It was used on a teacher when he was taking exams. He had to give the capsule to the teacher, and the teacher would sleep. The exam was to carefully nurse the 'patient' back to full recovery, while using ointments, bandages, and arm casts. This was always a drill for in case a tracker team member was badly hurt.

Kamichi took the capsule and slipped it in the smallest compartment in his zip-up pockets.

"Make sure not to lose that, Kamichi." Haku warned. "It's my last one."

Kamichi nodded as Omari gulped and stood up.

"Well...I guess...we better get going..." She whispered to her teammates, who all nodded silently.

"Yeah, we better get going..." Slicer grumbled, "...before anything else bad happens."

_**...Meanwhile, In Skyvoid Tower...**_

Hikaru sat down patiently in his chair, waiting for something to happen. He had been waiting for almost an hour now. He sat, playing with all of the glorious kunais he had collected from those Kingpin Kunai goons back on earth. During the forty-five minutes, he had only got up to threaten Tarina to make a Light Kunai- or else she would get a large blue seal on her forehead a bit before schedule. The blue seal was the seal that blew a ghost up in about only thirty seconds. They were rare, and way better than the puny red ones.

Hikaru decided to go and check on her now. Bringing the box containing the seal inside, and the Sword of Darkness, Hikaru opened the clear glass doors to the balcony and looked down at Tarina and Zabuza, who were huddling in the cage. It was pretty breezy outside. A slight storm was going on in the distance.

"Well...? Any results yet?" He asked Tarina in a rough voice.

Tarina stood and pointed at the bunch of kunais scattered on the balcony. "I tried them all. I- I can't do it." She said slowly and nervously.

Hikaru carefully eyed the kunais on the ground, seeing if any had taken effect from Tarina's miserable efforts. Some of the kunais looked deformed and bent out of shape from the effort. He snorted when he saw a kunai that looked like it was made from brick, the same material used for the castle. Apart from the cheap brick Kunai, he saw something else. He pointed to a glowing blue one nearby. "What's that?"

"Huh? Oh, this?" Tarina picked up the new Ultra Kunai and handed it to him. "It's not a Light Kunai. Nothing special."

Hikaru glared at the weapon. "It's an Electric Kunai."

"Does that replace the Light Kunai you were after?" Tarina asked hopefully. "That looks pretty strong."

"No." Hikaru said. "It doesn't. It's pretty strong, and I can use it for some extra power, but it's not going to evenly work with the others." He casually slipped it into his pocket. It was strong, very strong, but it wasn't what he was looking for. He didn't want to make stupid Tarina feel good, either. He needed a Light Kunai, and he needed it now.

"You know, it takes alot of power and effort to create a different border or sheild made from other materials for kunais." Tarina said. "Only certain Hidden Mist shinobi can do it, and it's almost impossible for a person from a different village to make one, because those Ultra Kunais are so strong." She wanted Hikaru to accept the kunais that she had made already.

"I don't care. I want nothing but the Light Kunai."

"Oh. I see." Tarina sighed.

"In the meantime..." Hikaru grinned and opened the metal box containing the precious blue seal. "I don't think you'll be much use from now on, so let's just end your journey right about here, shall we?" He used a quick hand sign to open the cage and went inside of it.

"No! Leave her alone!" Zabuza growled in that gravelly voice of his. He charged at Hikaru with his guillotine sword, and Hikaru roughly slashed him away with his Sword of Darkness. It didn't do much damage to Zabuza, but it did leave him stunned. Hikaru threw his sword down after that and crouched down in front of Tarina, who was staring at him in horror.

"Hikaru..." Tarina whispered, scooching away from him even more. "Please...just don't put that on my head." She watched, eyes widened, as Hikaru took the flimsy-looking seal from it's box and held it out in front of her.

Hikaru just smiled sweetly at her. "What's wrong? You scared or something? If you're really that desperate, then why don't you do something about it, Tarina?" He came even closer to her, close enough so that she was trapped against the wall.

Tarina kicked Hikaru as hard as she could, right in his chest. Hikaru cried out and nearly dropped the seal, but he held on as Tarina scrambled away. Hikaru clutched his chest, moaning.

"Tarina...you're really...gonna...regret...that..." Hikaru growled loudly, standing up and putting the seal back in it's rightful place. He then picked up the Sword of Darkness. Tarina looked up at him with something pitiful in her eyes.

Hikaru made the correct hand sign to lock up the cage again. Hikaru just turned at Tarina's sad, pleading look, and grumbled all the way back to his seat back in his room.

_**...One Hour Later...**_

Omari gulped and gave Kamichi a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "Please, Kamichi. Be safe..." She whispered on the small platform Haku had made up when they had took the short yet thrilling trip to the sky. "We'll be ready and up there in no time, got that? Swallow the capsule directly when you reach the vent, okay?"

They had taken the little mini-platform more than three-quarters of the way up from the tower. Kamichi only had to climb just a little bit. This was the easy part. If he fell, which he probably wouldn't, then the platform would rush to catch him. Once Kamichi would get up there, they would leave him to go and find the real way into the castle. Hikaru wouldn't even hear or see them making noise and rooting around the outside castle below, because he'd be too occupied with Kamichi.

Haku, Slicer, and Zamu gave Kamichi a group hug goodbye, and they all told him to have good luck. Everyone also warned him at least three times about the capsule and Hikaru. After Kamichi had put up with their whining and assuring, he finally started to climb the tower by implanting his hands in each brick, using the same type of ability as the earth sheild.

Kamichi took deep breaths as he took very slow, catious steps up the remaining hundred feet of the castle. He made sure to slam his fists right into the brick and hang on with each climb. About twenty minutes later, he was at the top. It was time.

He sat on the ledge of the ajar vent and took out the blue capsule. He stuck the plain-tasting pill in his mouth and swallowed. It would be about twenty minutes before he would be completley unconscious, or 'dead'. He opened the vent and slipped inside, down to the carpeted-floor of Hikaru's room. He landed with a small thump.

"What?! Who's there?!" Hikaru bellowed, looking wildly around the room. He drew out his fangs as the threatening noise struck his ears. He then turned to see Kamichi, looking as brave and serious as ever.

Kamichi gulped as Hikaru's pericing eyes were on him. Hikaru was only two years older than Kamichi, yet seemed so much older and so much more mature and powerful.

"What have you come here for, little runt?" Hikaru stepped torwards the timid, younger boy.

Kamichi wished that he was feeling drowsy or immobilized right about now. He wanted to be in that temporary death state, and soon, before Hikaru got him. "I've...I've come to challenge you, Hikaru!" He declared.

Hikaru cackled. "Oh, really? I doubt that Omari, Haku, Slicer, or Zamu would just send you here alone. You alone don't even know how to get here to my castle, let alone get to this height of the tower. I'm not dumb. You're just trying to stall for your little goony friends back there, aren't you, Kamichi?" Hikaru would have gotten the entire plan right, but he didn't know about the capsule.

Kamichi pretended to look like he had gotten completley found out by Hikaru, and began to shake. The shaking wasn't even voluntary. Kamichi decided to say nothing.

Hikaru fixed his dark gray bandanna, and Kamichi fixed his purple one, ready for battle. Hikaru laughed at him. "Oh, wow. You're really serious about this, aren't you, runt? You really have some nerve coming up here. You might as well lie down on my floor and let me finish this for you. You're just going to die even more painfully by running away." He smirked.

Just then, Hikaru charged for the younger shinobi, Kingpin Kunai versus Kingpin Kunai. Kamichi didn't want to battle, but Hikaru was forcing it into him. Kamichi tried to dodge Hikaru's first slashing blow, but couldn't do it in time. The claw hit him way harder than he had expected, right across his back.

Kamichi fell to the ground with a flop, feeling his shirt tear as Hikaru pulled on him. "C'mon, aren't you gonna get up and fight again, you cowardly weakling?!" Hikaru cackled cruelly as Kamichi moaned, not feeling the least bit tired out yet from the capsule. This was the first time Kamichi had considered how dangerous and painful this mission really was, considering how faster Hikaru could move. Nineteen more minutes of putting up with this, and Kamichi felt that he had already had enough.

Kamichi stood up and started to run. He had to let Hikaru have his fun, or else he would get bored or finish him off in a millisecond, then go downstairs and kill the ones who were trying to get in. Kamichi dodged the second headbutt attack, and Hikaru banged his head onto the wall, cracking it, but not taking the least bit damage. Hikaru whipped around, caught Kamichi, and twisted his leg with as much force as possible.

As Kamichi screamed in agony, Hikaru laughed some more. He was definatley enjoying being a monster to a younger shinobi that was supossed to be his teammate. "Does this feel good, Kamichi?" Hikaru asked him sweetly.

"Yes, it does!" Kamichi grunted back, using all of his courage to speak up. "It does feel good. 'Cause it'll all pay off when Omari and Haku come in here and tear you to peices! You'll regret this so badly! Just watch! You'll be sorry!" Kamichi growled as he finally escaped Hikaru's tight grip.

"I don't think so, goon." Hikaru smiled and dove for poor Kamichi once again, who had begun limping away to catch his breath. Kamichi was really taking a beating so far, and Kamichi didn't think that Hikaru would tire as easily as he would. He couldn't use any of his effective jutsus, except for the Water Gun Justu for distractions. But, he's have to use that up later.

Kamichi gasped as he fell to the ground. His twisted leg had taken it's effect on him. The automatic numbing stuff inside of his bones that was released when you had a broke bone had already worn off, and he was definatley feeling pain now.

Hikaru laughed again as he jumped on top of little Kamichi again, with Kamichi feeling Hikaru's weight crushing his body. Hikaru was a light person, but with Kamichi's achy stomach, it sure didn't help things.

Kamichi squeaked out a curse word pitifully as Hikaru just smiled and got ready to totally wipe him out.

Kamichi closed his eyes. A tear squeezed out involuntarily and he waited. Hikaru was having his fun. Kamichi's turn would soon come...if he made it out of here alive. He suddenly felt Hikaru changing into that deformed thing again with the ears and even bigger fangs and claws, still laughing. This would not end well.

Kamichi screamed in sheer pain as he let the monster form of Hikaru have at him.

_**...Back Outside Of The Tower...**_

"Roooarr! Where is this stupid key?! Where?! We'll never find it!" Omari screamed pitiully. "We've got to get to Hikaru and Kamichi! Something tells me that Kamichi probably can't take much more from Hikaru before he dies!"

"Re-lax, Omari." Slicer growled. "We've got to stay calm. Only two minutes have passed." He walked around the corner of the castle to find her looking pretty scared right about now.

"I'm sure Kamichi will be okay...for a little while." Zamu added. "Even though a guy like Hikaru is pretty hard to stall, Kamichi's going to tough it out."

"What about when the capsule knocks him out?!" Omari cried fretfully. "We don't know what Hikaru's planning to do with Kamichi's 'corpse'! I mean, what if he burns or eats Kamichi or something while he's in that temporary death state! We don't know what will happen!"

Haku sighed as he sliced another brick apart and removed it from the castle. No key. "You guys, maybe they key is in-"

_"Aaaaaahhhh! Stoopp iiiitt! Pleeaaase! That hurts! Waaaaaahhh!!"_

"Kamichi!" Omari screeched, running to the side that the vent was on and looking up the hundreds of feet above. She turned to her teammates. "We've GOT to get in there, NOW!" She screamed as Haku cringed in guilt and fright behind her. He was dead meat if Kamichi didn't make this. This whole thing was his idea, anyway. But Omari had let Kamichi go. It was both of their faults.

Haku suddenly had a bright idea. He ran over to the enterance of the tower, and looked at the others. "Come on. We'll just bust our way in. We're so stupid, that we didn't think of this before!" He forced a little smile.

Zamu looked worried about the idea, Slicer looked pleased and excited, and Omari looked a bit relieved. But none said anything.

"So, what do you guys say we give it a shot?" Haku said to his friends.

Omari nodded, but was still shaky. "Yeah. Good idea, Haku. Let's give it a few tries." She took a deep breath that was supossed to calm her down, but her exhale came out more like a whimpering sigh.

"Okay, everyone step back at least ten feet. That's it, get in a straight line with me! Okay, I think we're ready now." Haku said as he directed the rest of the group back away from the castle, all the way to the back of the brick path in front of the huge, towering castle.

"Alright, here we go. Remember, don't just slam yourself into the big door. That only hurts you, and doesn't effect the wall at all. Use your hands and feet. Everyone charges at the count of three." Haku said with alot of determination and bravery in his voice. Everyone nodded.

"One..."

Everyone got ready to charge...

"Two..."

The group got their hands and feet ready...

"Three!"

Everyone charged at the wooden door, ready to knock it down with all of their strength, since they didn't have a battering ram. Everyone struck the door as hard as they could, but then their hands bounced off of it, and they all toppled to the foggy ground. Everybody groaned.

Haku was the first to recover and stand up again. "I think I felt it move."

"Really?" There was an actual trace of hope in Omari's voice.

Haku nodded. "Really. We weakened it. Now, we have to try it again. But with more force."

"But that _was _all of the force we could muster." Zamu grumbled, standing up along with Slicer and Omari.

"I know. But this time, we're all going to have to do jump up as high as we can as we charge, spin around and do a flying kick into the door, with some weapons thrown into it. Slicer, you can use your sword, and the rest of us will use regular kunais. This time, it has to work. The impact might hurt us a bit, but we should be just fine."

"Alright, we'll do it." Omari nodded, grateful that Haku was substituing for her indescisive behavior.

Everybody stepped away from the door again, ready to give it their last and srongest shot.

"Once again, no slamming yourself or bending the knees." Haku warned. "This door is very solid, and if you bend your knees while doing the kick, you can snap your leg. Just go all of the way. Use every ounce of strength in your leg. Everyone has to pitch in equally, so we have to work with each other." Haku said. "Charge on the count of three."

"One..."

Everybody gulped while taking out their weapons, getting ready to run at full speed...

"Two..."

Even Haku was shaking now, wondering if this was actually going to work. They each quickly checked if they had enough space between each other, making sure that they ran into the door, not the castle wall...

"THREE!"

_**...Back in Hikaru's Room...**_

"Aaagh!" Kamichi cried as he slammed into the now blood-stained wall once again, due to Hikaru's hurling Kamichi's little body into the wall after each vicious attack. There was no doubt that Hikaru wanted to torture Kamichi to death.

This time, when Hikaru hurled, him, Kamichi had hit head-first, and he now lay on the ground in a lump, sobbing. He was praying for the pain to all end, for Omari, Haku, Slicer, and Zamu to return to him.

Kamichi just lay there, and could barely move now. A small pool of blood was underneath him now, slowly getting bigger. His arms and legs were all slashed and bruised. His body felt crushed. How could Hikaru even think of doing things as disgusting as this to a child? How could anyone?

Kamichi's body was not very strongly built. It was sort of like Haku's. He had quite a few muscles and was a bit short for his age, but he was very sensitive when someone struck him. Very limited hit points.

Hikaru laughed like a maniac again and walked torwards him again. Kamichi shut his eyes and groaned miserably.

Hikaru bent down next to Kamichi, who was flopped down on his stomach. Hikaru lifted Kamichi's head to face his. "Have you had enough yet?"

Kamichi didn't respond.

Hikaru just smirked and cruelly slashed Kamichi's face again with a razor-sharp claw. Tears and more blood streamed down Kamichi's cheeks. "I SAID, _have you had enough of this yet?_"

Poor Kamichi just shuddered and rolled to turn away from Hikaru. He felt so weak and beaten up. He couldn't give up and give Hikaru the pleasure Kamichi looking like he had suffered greatly from Hikaru's endless, cruel blows. He just couldn't let his team lose to this guy. Hikaru couldn't win over him. Hikaru didn't deserve to win over anybody, except for maybe a person like Naruto.

Hikaru smiled again as Kamichi failed to talk. "I guess I'll take that as a 'no'." He cackled as he stood up and slammed his foot down on Kamichi's back as hard as possible. Kamichi grunted and coughed up a gooey glob of blood. Hikaru bent down again and punched Kamichi in the back of the head, hard. Then again. And again. Hikaru slammed his foot on Kamichi's head this time, forcing Kamichi's head to slam into the floor. His spine felt like it was going to snap in three.

Kamichi squeaked out something again, probably a curse word or something threatening. Hikaru couldn't tell which. He didn't bother asking, whether it was a plea for mercy or not. "I doubt that you can take much more of this, Kamichi. You sure that you don't want to give up yet?" Hikaru picked up something from the ground and held it threateningly over Kamichi's limp, exausted body. "And, if you don't talk this time, I'll just finish you off with the Sword of Darkness. How does that sound?"

"I...I don't even know...what...to...s-say...at...this...point..." Kamichi grunted, sniffling as more blood thickly rolled from his hurt nose.

"You have three choices here. You could either refuse to talk, curse at me again, or give up this little 'match' here. Two of the three choices come with horrid consequenses, and you'll be thrown off of this tower after you're finished off with my sword. The last and safest choice completley destroys my cruel reputation. If you give in, I just might spare your life after I'm done with the rest of the Kingpin Kunais and Haku and Zabuza." Hikaru said.

"I'm not...giving up!" Kamichi cried. "I'm...not! I can't! I have to...live! I promised myself that I wouldn't be scared of you or anything else anymore! And...one day...I want to fight Squad Seven in the Hidden Leaf Village along with my teammates! I...can't...die!" He squeaked.

Hikaru swung his right foot in a kick that crashed into Kamichi's ribs and sent him rolling over onto his back. Hikaru snatched Kamichi's precious purple bandanna from his head.

"This thing that Omari gave you doesn't prove that you're worthy to be a Kingpin Kunai squad member." Hikaru said angrily, twirling Kamichi's bandanna in his hand.

"Then...why are...you wearing one?!" Kamichi shot back angrily. "Why are you even wearing a ninja headband!? You don't deserve to be a ninja nor a Kingpin Kunai squad member, and you never will! I deserve to be one because I'm not a selfish, brainless idiot who tries to take over the world! And I have people who care about me and help me out! I actually try to be a good person! You don't! You're just a stupid, cowardly, uncaring little brat!"

"What did you just call me!?" Hikaru grabbed Kamichi's shirt collar and held the sword to his neck.

Kamichi seemed unafraid now. He was dead serious about insulting Hikaru. No regrets at all. "I called you a selfish, brainless idiot. Then, I called you a stupid, cowardly, uncaring little brat! Do you have any complaints or disagreements with what I just said to you? I think that I'm totoally accurate when it comes to this issue." Kamichi said. Hikaru couldn't understand why Kamichi was acting so bold, but it sure angered him.

Hikaru screamed out in frusteration and punched Kamichi in the face, sending him flying torwards the blacony door. Kamichi hit it, but the impact wasn't great enough to smash the glass or hurt Kamichi too much.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, Kamichi, I have to go and eliminate your buddies downstairs! I'll be back for you later. You better stay right there, or else." Hikaru held up his claws and made his fangs bigger so Kamichi could see that he was dead serious. Kamichi gasped as he saw Hikaru moving away. He couldn't let Hikaru go downstairs. Kamichi needed to stall more. To make him want something that Kamichi wanted, something that Hikaru would kill him for. Of course! Another Ultra Kunai.

Kamichi wiped his blood-covered face with his dirty sleeve and slowly and weakly ran out of the door with all of his remaining strength, leading to the balcony.

"Hey!" Hikaru raced after him. He saw Kamichi run to the other side, quickly eyeing Tarina and Zabuza, who were staring at him in shock in their cages, not expecting that. From the cage, they could not hear or see things well through the glass door.

Kamichi whipped out his last kunai and held it in the daytime air, sticking it up as far as possible into the faint sunlight. The storm had cleared up a bit in the distance, and Hikaru gasped as he saw what Kamichi was doing. He was going to make the Light Kunai and fight Hikaru with it.

Hikaru, Zabuza, and Tarina all stopped whatever they were doing and watched with awe as a shimmering, bright yellow color covered Kamichi's entire kunai. A small sun symbol covered the handle of the kunai.

Hikaru's eyes bulged as Kamichi held the kunai at the ready, daring Hikaru to try and beat him up again, although Kamichi was feeling a bit tired now.

"Hey, goon! Gimme that kunai! Now! Hand it over!" Hikaru demanded, holding his hand out to recieve the kunai.

"Nope. It's mine. All mine." Kamichi said,

"Then, what's the point of even making it!? Just to frusterate me, huh, you little twerp?!" Hikaru rolled up his sleeve and glared. "Oh, boy, you're going to really get it this time, Kamichi. Gimme that kunai! Now!" He almost whipped out his Dark Kunai, but it didn't stand a chance against something so rare and powerful. Even the Sword of Darkness was useless here.

"Never!" Kamichi said. "If you want it, then you'll have to rip it from my cold, dead hands!" He said. Hikaru almost laughed as he watched Kamichi try to hold the kunai in a threatening position. The kid barely could hold the thing.

Hikaru stepped broadly over to him and pulled out the Electric Kunai. It wouldn't be an even match, but when it came to taijutsu, Kamichi was no match at all.

"Go ahead," Hikaru grinned. "It's your move."

In pure fury of being mentally teased, Kamichi swung the Light Kunai as hard as he could at Hikaru, in a move that was supossed to kill him. Hikaru blocked the attack with his Ultra Kunai and snatched the Light Kunai from Kamichi's hands. Kamichi now had nothing to stall him with. This was anything but a safe situation. Now, Kamichi had to amuse Hikaru with his own life.

_He was way to fast for me! _Kamichi thought with horror, taking a tiny step back. Hikaru just laughed as he pushed the Electric Kunai in his pocket, and slipping the Light Kunai in there as well.

"Gee, Kamichi, thanks for the kunai! You've just given me the last world domination token I need! So, where were we now?" Hikaru giggled, enjoying the horrified and frightened look on Kamichi's face. Hikaru took a big, threatening step forward at Kamichi.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Tarina and Zabuza screamed in unison.

Hikaru turned to them and sneered. "Where have you goons been for the past ten minutes? I've been trying to slash him to bits the whole time, bit it appears that he's still in one peice. Yes, a very loose peice that's breaking apart."

Just then, before Hikaru could turn around again, Kamichi acted quickly- he created a brick outer coating over his fist and punched Hikaru right in the stomach as hard as he could. Hikaru cried out and clutched his stomach as Kamichi ran back inside of Hikaru's room. There was more room in there to run, and he wouldn't have to risk being thrown off the balcony.

"Aaaaaggghh! Come back here so I can kill you!" Hikaru screeched at the top of his lungs, racing back into his tower as his monster-like self again, releasing his fangs once more. This time, Hikaru swore to himself that he'd get Kamichi. He'd get him good.

Kamichi raced off across the huge room, feeling even sleepier than ever. When he saw Hikaru bounding torwards him, Kamichi put his hands together in a sign and screamed, "Water Gun Jutsu!" A huge spray of water blasted Hikaru in the face.

Hikaru cried out in frustration, shook the water off of him like a hyper dog, and bolted torwards Kamichi at top speed again.

"Water Gun Jutsu!" Kamichi yelled again and blasted Hikaru in the face even harder than before, sending Hikaru sliding back a few feet on the slippery floor.

Hikaru suddenly formed a sphere-like blue sheild and repelled all of the water that Kamichi was continuously spouting at him. The water that Kamichi was releasing was formed into a tidal-wave-like form, and slammed itself into poor Kamichi, sending him flying torwards the back wall.

Hikaru grinned as the bloody, worn out child moaned and flopped to the ground, finished. That was all Kamichi had. And the capsule he had taken had really taken it's toll on Kamichi. Kamichi felt sleepy, like he couldn't move, couldn't think straight...he felt like he was dying.

Hikaru stepped over to Kamichi, with the Dark Kunai and Light Kunai in his hands. Kamichi could hear faint laughter. Almost like a clown's. It was Hikaru. Laughing at him. Having two shiny objects in his hands. Kamichi suddenly felt like he was being put into a temporary death state right about now. The pain was coming in...

"Looks like it's over, huh, little goon? It looks like you wont get to see me tear apart your teammates after all. What a shame..." Kamichi heard Hikaru tsk. Kamichi knew what was coming as he heard the two Ultra Kunais that he had made with his own hands screaming, crying, begging not to kill their creator...he braced himself for the pain...

Kamichi was clearly delusional and in serious pain, and so only he knew a fraction of what was going on. Kamichi couldn't tell whether it was the kunais or the capsule that was making him feel this way. Hikaru was slowly but painfully pushing the sharp weapons into his body. He sensed Hikaru gently placing the tips of each weapon on his body, then pushing, pushing, the pain was extrordinary...

_Ow...ow...he's trying to impale me while I'm lying on my back...he's pushing my own weapons that I made into my body...it's a betrayal. The weapons...they don't want to do this...it's all a mistake. A big mistake. They're sorry for what they're doing, sorry that they're killing me..._ Kamichi's jumbled, unwanted and involuntary thoughts were clearly hurting his young mind. His head hurt. His face hurt. His everything hurt. There was nothing but pain, pain, and suffering as Hikaru drove the two most deadliest weapons into his stomach...

_Is this what it feels like to die? Is this what Haku felt? Just numbing pain and regrets from your life, making you feel that you were nothing on this planet. Nothing. Just worthless and mean. What's a rogue ninja good for, anyway? What was my goal? Just out to destroy the good? _Kamichi was considering thoughts that he had never considered before, even though he knew that there were arguments for them all, but he just couldn't think of them. It aggravated him that _now _felt smart enough to understand his purpose. _Now _he knew the answers. Just about as he was about to die or whatever, he knew. He might never awaken to tell people his new views...just forming as he was dying. What other things could he have done with his life? Everything was a blur...

_Why?_

_How...?_

_What...?_

_I really hope I'm going to wake up after a while. Maybe this is only temporary...or not. Maybe this is permanent. I'm really going to die, aren't I? I really want to live, though. Not be in the same world as Hikaru lives in, only to be destroyed for good. Maybe if I wish hard enough... Maybe I'll wake up to see Haku's warm, gentle, caring face...or Omari's pretty, smiling, loving one, just like my mother's..._

All of a sudden, everything went blank. He could not hear anything. Could not see. His thoughts were closing in on him...he felt so sleepy...

Hikaru looked at Kamichi's limp body for a second, just staring. He pulled the Ultra Kunais from the bloody body and put them in his pockets. Was Kamichi really dead? ...Could Hikaru actually have killed one of the hated Kingpin Kunai members? Just thinking of it put a frown on his face. The poor kid. So innocent. He was such a new squad member, so young that he had nothing to lose and so much to gain in life. It sort of pained Hikaru to know that Kamichi had died such a painful and trecherous death. It also chilled Hikaru that he was now an assasin, but he was still loved. Maybe. Now it was over for poor Kamichi.

Hikaru knew the results of what Kamichi had been though already, but decided to check Kamichi's pulse. Nothing.

Hikaru then smiled at the fact that he had achieved his goal of finally getting rid of the stupid kid. Kamichi was the one who had ruined his cape and ruined his chance of killing Omari, after all. This was his third attempt, and it had worked. Kamichi was dead, and there was nothing that Omari, Slicer, Zamu, Haku, Zabuza, or Tarina could do about it. Even tearing him apart into ghostly, spiritual peices wouldn't change what Hikaru had done to torture Kamichi to death.

He took a last look at the gruesome-looking site of Kamichi covered in blood, left with a horrified and pained look on his face, then dragged Kamichi out of the balcony door. He couldn't stand to look at Kamichi's face. It made him feel...almost guilty of what he had done. The twisted look on his face reminded him of when Hikaru himself was killed. One year after Hikaru had died, he had visited the real world to see his own body. The look on his face was identical to Kamichi's. Eyes wide open. Fists clenched.

Tarina and Zabuza took one look at the thing Hikaru was dragging, and both screamed with horror.

Hikaru just glared at the both of them. "See? This is what I mean by revenge. All of your teammates, or followers, I should say, are going to end up like this boy right here. It's a shame he died so young, don't you think?" Out of generosity, he released the lock on the cage without comment and watched as Tarina and Zabuza ran from their prison to look at the young corpse.

Hikaru didn't have to worry about Zabuza or Tarina attacking him. No matter how much pain or anger they felt, neither one dared to come any closer to Hikaru. They were at his mercy, and they knew what was going to happen to the rest of them, including themselves. Hikaru was a truly dangerous, sick young boy.

Tarina began to sob her heart out, clutching the boy in her arms, despite the blood getting on her hands. She looked up at Hikaru with pure shock, horror, and depression in her eyes. "How...could you...? How could you stand to torture and kill such a little boy? You're a monster, Hikaru. You don't have to be like I was a long time ago. You don't have to kill everyone you hate, like I did."

"You and I aren't alike at all." Hikaru scowled, glaring straight into Tarina's shaking, watery pupils.

"Yes, we are." Tarina argued in a shaking voice. "You have no idea...do you? Don't you see the relation here? I killed you...and you just killed Kamichi."

"Yeah, so?" Hikaru said, trying to hold back his own tears, not believing what she was going to say. It didn't feel good to do something like this, but him being killed had always angered him. He had made a promise to himself to eliminate the remaining Kingpin Kunais and the village that they were from. He had vowed that he would rule over it. This was just a small tear in the huge ripping madness that he was doing. It was one small step to ripping up the Hidden Mist and it's history. Killing the Kingpin Kunais was step one, but he had never imagined the great pain that he was feeling now.

"So..." Tarina whispered. "We both killed a squad member. A family member. Someone we loved. You may have not exactly loved Kamichi, but you did feel something."

"What are you talking about?! I never felt anything for Kamichi." Hikaru released his tears and for the first time in years, he was actually crying.

"What about right now?" Tarina whispered, continuing to cradle the dead boy in her arms.

Hikaru didn't respond.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

Omari, Haku, Zamu, and Slicer raced up the third floor of stairs, breathless. They had successfully kicked down the door with their second try. Each floor they had been in was two thousand steps each. Slicer had counted them as they were rushing. There were five colassal floors.

"One thousand, nine-hundred, eighty-five..." Omari was panting, slowing down a bit. This was exausting, and they had only made it this far because Haku knew Skyvoid Tower from top to bottom by Hikaru invading his body for a few days. Omari tripped on the one thousandth, nine hundred, and eighty-seventh step, and fell. Before she hit the steps, Haku, who was moving quickly and tiredlessly, grabbed her and carried her the rest of the way up the third floor.

Haku set Omari down when they had reached the door to the fourth floor. Omari anxiously twisted the handle, but it was locked. A sign said in neat handwriting, "Door To The Other Half Of The Tower".

The door was made of steel, so it was nearly impossible to ram down. Haku could probably break the steel knob and open it, but his arm strength was still a bit weak due to Hikaru's using them. Having Hikaru in him had felt horrid. Haku once swore to himself to never say the word 'goon' again, because it got quite annoying when Hikaru used it to insult varied fellow ghosts or creatures, which he did alot of in Haku's body for the lats few days.

"How are we suppossed to...get in?!" Omari cried, yanking on the knob.

Haku suddenly remembered. "With a key." He said slyly and pulled out a set of keys to various doors of the castle. "Hikaru invaded my body, right? Well, when he left, he forgot to take his keys with him." Haku singled out a silver key on the chain, knowing what he was doing. He inserted the key into the matching door, turned it, and the door to another floor swung open.

There was rooms full of supplies and weapons and such, just as there was on the other floors. Omari requested about twenty seconds of rest, and so they stood for less than half a minute, catching their breath. The group certainly did not have time to dawdle or look around the intersting castle. They raced past the large rooms, right to the next staircase.

Haku flung open the unlocked, wooden door, and they ran.

_**...Thirty Minutes Later...**_

"Let's go! Only a couple more steps. We're have to...make it!" Omari weakly called out to her teammates. They quickly walked up the rest of the stairs. They weren't even sure if they could fight Hikaru. They had walked up five giant staircases, and Omari had battled Hikaru earlier in the day to save Kamichi and Haku. She hoped and prayed that Kamichi would be okay...

Slicer cautiously took out his sword as they burst through the final doors to reach the top floor: Hikaru's room. They found Hikaru sitting down in his favorite chair, with a suprised look on his face.

"Glad you goons could make it," Hikaru lightly applauded. "That didn't take you so long, now, did it? Only fifty ninutes to get up to the top of my castle. Bravo." He hopped down from his chair and smirked. Tarina and Zabuza were not present in the room. Hikaru had herded them back in the cage ten minutes ago.

Omari looked wildly around the room. Her heart was fluttering and skipping beats as she stared at Hikaru with a crazed look in her eyes. "Wh- where is Kamichi?! What did you do with him?!"

"I knew you would ask..." Hikaru said calmly as everyone stared at him in silence and shock. Everyone except for Omari.

_"Where is he?! Tell me what you did with him!!" _Omari demanded, taking a step forward. Zamu restrained her from getting too close to Hikaru.

"Well, what do you think I did with him?" Hikaru shrugged. He had gotten his tears out earlier. He didn't need to shed them again.

Omari stared at him in absolute horror, as if she had just had a kunai driven through her body. "What did you do with Kamichi?"

Hikaru cocked his head and seemed to be amused by the looks on the groups faces. "Kamichi's dead. Looks like he couldn't stall without being killed. He saved all of your butts. I would have went down to the base of the castle and killed you from a high window or something, but he persuaded me to stay and torture him. Looks like he couldn't handle the pain and pressure..." Hikaru flipped the Light and Dark Kunais in his hands.

Omari gulped. Her heart was beating at it's fastest rate. "What...did you just...say...?"

"Kamichi's DEAD, you goon! And there's nothin' you can do about it! He saved your lives, and gave up his fight against me. I was way too quick and strong for him!" Hikaru looked angry. He couldn't tell if he wans angry at himself or Omari for not believing him.

Omari fell to her knees, hands on the side of her head, shaking it wildly. "No. No. No. No. This...it can't be happening. Kamichi's not dead...this isn't real..." She felt herself feeling far, far, away from everyone. The world. The capsule couldn't have worked on him. He went too soon. "Hikaru...you didn't...I know you didn't...he wouldn't allow it."

Tears were streaming down Haku's face, and Zamu and Slicer were weeping just as hard. Haku stepped forward, all the way up to Hikaru. "You...you didn't kill him...did you...?" He was slowly shaking his head.

Hikaru looked a bit frightened and put out of place, but he found the courage to speak to Haku. "I did. His body is on the balcony. So is Tarina and Zabuza, but they're still alive. But, yeah. Kamichi's no longer with us- or with Omari, Slicer, and Zamu, I should say." He said, taking a few steps back as the shocked and horrified look turned to pure anger on Haku.

"You...you...uuggh..." Haku looked at the floor and suddenly glowed with a bright blue chakra that was lighter than usual. It brought a cold icy mist into the room. It chilled everyone in the room, including Omari, who was gasping and sobbing for her friend.

Hikaru gulped as Haku looked up with his bright blue, bloodshot eyes. His pupils had turned very small and shaky. His hair had grown wild once again, whenever his Kekkei Genkai was out of control, and he was getting even more muscular than before...

_"YOU KILLED KAMICHI?!?" _Haku screamed at the top of his lungs in the most horrible and metallic voice Hikaru had ever heard. He took a tiny step back, his fangs and claws at full extent. They would come in handy for defense, but Haku would probably pull his claws off of his hands when he was finished with him. Hikaru felt a bit queasy now.

Haku took a step forward as Hikaru took a tiny step back. Haku suddenly lunged for the evil shinobi, catching his wrist an twisting it so he couldn't get away.

Hikaru cringed as Haku raised his chakra-engolfed fist. He shut his eyes as the impact hit him hard in the face, sending him flying backwards. Hikaru quickly regained his uneasy footing as Haku charged again and tackled him to the ground.

_"I'll kill him! I will! He killed Kamichi!! My friend! My student! We all loved him and formed a special bond with him, and you RUINED it! You demolished it! Now I'm going to demolish you with my bare hands!" _Haku was screaming despaeratley as Hikaru was weakly crying out for help, with Haku's blows hitting him so fast that he didn't even get the time to fight back or transform into something else.

Just as Haku reached into his pocket for a kunai, and Hikaru braced himself for his punishment, someone grabbed Haku and pulled him off of Hikaru. Haku writhed and twisted at the source that was yanking him away from his prey, but he stopped when he saw Omari staring into his blue eyes, which were slowly changing back to their regular warm chocolate eyes.

"But...Omari...why...?!" Haku gasped desperatley as Omari let go of him and watched with fury as Hikaru stood up again, wiping his face off with his sleeve.

"Sorry, Haku." Omari growled in a scary, threatening tone torwards Hikaru. She whipped her head around to face him, her eyes filled with danger and rage. "But...I want to destroy him myself."

_**Turn To The Next Chapter If You Dare!!!**_

_**The most violent chapter of the series. Ever. So, for all of you gore-story fans out there, I hope you enjoyed my series so far, especially this chapter! Only a few more chapters to go with the exciting series. Then, comes the extra episodes of friendships and extra scenarios that don't have to do with the plot. Sort of a spinoff of a spinoff Naruto series! LOL! One of my dreams and goals is to make this series into a real Naruto spinoff. I mean, you've seen Pokemon Choronicles, right? Why not have a Haku Choronicles? With a little editing, I think I would really want this series on television.**_

_**So, anyway, um...IS KAMICHI REALLY DEAD?! I strictly cannot answer that question, my good friends, but I will give you Kamichi's profile to make the Kamichi-lovers stop crying for a while. (sniffles) Just like I did this for Hikaru, I'll do it for Kamichi, the funniest boy character in my series. As a reminder, Kamichi and everyone elses' characters' age varied throughout the series. This is their CURRENT AGE, BASED ON CHAPTER 18'S UPDATES. For instance, he was only eight years old when he was introduced in "The Temporary Squad Member", in Episode 5. Now, he's 11. Pay attention to the rare time changes throughout the beginning of the series! Enjoy!**_

_**Name: Kamichi...**_

_**Age: 11 years old.**_

_**Chakra Type: Earth and Some Water Abilities**_

_**Occupation: Chunin; Rogue Ninja**_

_**Sort of Looks Like: Young Haku**_

_**Hair Color: Black; Messy, With Lots of Bangs**_

_**Eye Color: Dark Brown**_

_**Bandanna Color: Dark Purple**_

_**Favorite Food: Ice Cream**_

_**Least Favorite: Sashimi**_

_**Favorite Color: Navy Blue**_

_**Current Squad: The Kingpin Kunais (a.k.a Squad 19)**_

_**Current Village: The Hidden Mist Village**_

_**Was Born In: The Hidden Rock Village**_

_**Goals: To Become One Of The Most Well-Known Rogue Ninja**_

_**Is Known For: His Innocent Smile and Prankish Ways**_

_**Likes: Eating Sweets and Annoying Omari**_

_**Dislikes: Displeasing His Sensei, and Hikaru**_

_**Would Love To Fight: Haku**_

_**Likes To Share Jokes With: Tarina**_

_**Looks Up To The Most: Omari and Haku**_

_**Quote: "Whatever, lady."**_

_**Favorite Jutsu: Boulder Explosion**_

_**Favorite Weapon: The Light Kunai**_

_**Favorite Defense: Dark Spirit Sheild or Rock Sheild**_

_**Closing Comments: He Can't Beat Haku And Puts Up **_

_**With Alot of Violence, But...He's Brave And He Rocks!!**_


	20. Aftermath: 11: The Final Battle?

_**Aftermath: 11: The Final Battle- Part 1...**_

_Uuugh..._

_Where...what happened? What's going on? Am I dead? Did I...die? Can this really be?_

_I...I feel horrid..._

_I need something to drink, like a nice, cold slushie or something to help me...yes, a slushie sounds good...I'm exausted and hurt and none of my teammates has come to help me yet...Hikaru's still in there..._

_Why does the old lady at the ramen shop only sell sushi flavor on Tuesdays...?_

_...Why...what was I just thinking...? Why...am I thinking about ramen? Uggh...my head...it hurts._

_I...I...can't think straight! I'm losing it..._

_Where is the old ramen lady...? Where's Omari? Where am I?_

_What's...happening to me??_

_**Skyvoid Tower, Top Floor; Hikaru's Room.**_

"Omari!" Slicer cried. "You can't just fight him on your own! What about us?! We have to help you!"

Omari just glared savagely in Hikaru's direction as he finished regaining his footing and clutched his now wounded shoulder and growled. Hikaru scowled back. "Yeah, Omari. You'll need a million backups if you ever want to defeat me."

"That's exactly why I want to fight him myself!" Omari snapped. "I'm going to show him how weak he really is, with the ammatuer Kekkei Genkai using girl I am. He thinks he doesn't have to pay for what he's doing here! He's killed many people he doesn't even know, but hates just because they are from the Hidden Mist! Now he's become a personal assasin for what he's done to Kamichi! He can't get away with it."

Hikaru smirked as he began to transform once more. His body grew one-fourth his normal body size and the blue fur puffed out from his skin even more, with his new cape bursting off as well. His ears grew shaggy and pointed while silver spikes quickly popped from his fur on his back and on his shoulders and scalp. His fangs were drawn, claws huge. Blue chakra glowing around him. It didn't even look like Hikaru anymore.

Omari twitched. She felt worthless and small by never knowing how to release her Kekkei Genkai other than when she went absolutley crazy. Hikaru knew exactly how to release it, and knew how to go all of the way. This was almost all of the way for Hikaru. Omari looked at Haku, who's eyes were absolutley wild and crazy. He definatley wanted his chance at Hikaru. All Omari could notice was that his Kekkei Genkai was released at his fullest, too. Haku's Kekkei Genkai wasn't based on monsterous appearances as much as secret techniques and new special abilities. As for Omari and Hikaru's, most of their powers were based on their amazing amount of physical strength. Omari had more abilities added than Hikaru, but Hikaru could make a full transformation.

Omari concentrated on her Kekkei Genaki as hard as possible, making her blood boil by not succeeding. Omari decided that she'd conserve what was left of her energy and save it for later. Maybe her Kekkei Genkai only worked as a last resort in this case. Still, Omari felt angry that she didn't have the ability that Haku and Hikaru had to control their powers.

"Hee hee! Looks like you can't do it, Omari!" Hikaru cackled in a pure monster's voice. "You can't even control your stupid Kekkei Genkai. Oh, well. It wouldn't have helped you out, anyway. If I were you, I would reconsider booting Haku and the rest of your friends on the battle team." He laughed, which made Omari cringe with anger.

Slicer, Zamu, and Haku were about to step forward to assist her battle, but Omari held her hand out in a position that told them to stop and go back torwards the wall while they had their battle.

Without warning, Hikaru suddenly grew again, maybe a couple inches taller without even using a jutsu name or sign. Omari looked entirely unafraid. She just sighed in fury as she stuck out her hand and summoned her Sword of Light, which virtually appeared in her hands after about five seconds.

Hikaru reached into the sheath strapped to his back and pulled out the Sword of Darkness. Hikaru would make it work this time. It was pretty cheap when it came to comparing it to a Light Kunai, but he had a slightly better chance with the Sword of Light Omari was using.

"You sure you don't need any help, honey? You don't look like you have much energy left from this morning." Hikaru taunted as Omari twitched again in frustration.

"I'm pretty sure." Omari growled. "But, your sudden growth spurt doesn't help me. Haku, Slicer, and Zamu, you just try to stay out of this and protect each other. I'm going after Hikaru myself."

Hikaru just laughed as he made a motion for his clones to kill. They both made a monster-like screech of joy and bounded off to fight their prey. Omari knew her friends would destroy them or at least keep them busy from helping the real Hikaru out. She still couldn't believe that Kamichi was dead. It was unimaginable. Beyond her belief that the little kid she had always loved as a teammate was now dead...

But, she couldn't let that stop her from defeating Hikaru. It wasn't exactly revenge. She wasn't like Naruto or Hikaru. It was more of preventing this from ever happening to anyone else she loved, although there was a twinge of revenge-seeking feelings in her heart. Even if she had gotten complete and utter revenge, it didn't quell the revenge-hungry beast inside of you. It just messed you up even more. Just like how badly Naruto had messed up messing with Haku. But, then again, Naruto was a different story.

This was now.

This was Hikaru.

He was responsible for all of this. Kamichi was gone. If Omari didn't stop him or kill Hikaru, everyone could die.

Hikaru prepared himself for a feirce attack and held his sword at the ready. Omari raised hers, feeling unsteady with such a heavy sword. Hikaru saw how shaky she was with her sword, and so he charged at her without warning, holding the blade in a position to slice her.

Omari dodged as quickly as possible, but sliding back in the puddle of blood so far that she slammed bumped into the wall. She looked at the puddle and her soiled shoe and grimaced. _Kamichi._

"Nice move, Omari. I can tell you're a bit shaky from what you just heard. Don't worry, I'll be a bit easier on you." Hikaru said, walking torwards her with his big sword again.

Omari bit her tongue, stopping herself from screaming out in rage. Instead, she held the sword at the ready and prepared for another big attack. Hikaru bolted over and swung the sword at her head. Omari ducked, built up as much chakra as possible at the spur of the moment, and struck Hikaru in the stomach with all of her might. Hikaru went slamming into the far wall, but still not losing the grip on his sword.

Omari moaned as she felt the all-too-familiar tingling in her right arm. Strands of chakra were oozing and floating from her hand. This was one of those bad personal side effects that she had when she was very small. Omari couldn't help it back then. Tarina had eventually helped her to control it. It was probably one of the worst habits a shinobi could have. Omari used to be a very timid girl. This was what happened to the most timid and less motivated. It was powerful to have strands of chakra floating loosely, attatched to your hand, but it could cause physical damage if the habit was not stopped.

Hikaru recovered and saw the floating strands stuck to Omari's hand like single strands of thick spider webs. He smirked. "Feeling a little nervous here, huh?" He giggled, smoothing his now ruffled hair back. "I know you, Omari. You're the ultimate master of three different chakras. You have your regular chakra, your freakish green chakra, and your golden chakra, mastered not too long ago. You're brave and strong. But if you're _that_ scared, then you shouldn't be fighting me. Leave it to another one of your goony friends!"

Omari tried her best to absorb or suck up the chakra with her hand. She couldn't. The return of her dreaded childhood habit was embarassing, but she had to deal with this. For now. Maybe it could become an advantage. She looked up at Hikaru and glared. "I'm fine, thank you very much."

Hikaru just kept laughing as more and more chakra was 'leaking' from her hand. Her chakra was being wasted as it hit the floor and was absorbed. Omari was getting increasingly tense, and everyone knew it. She hadn't been this tense and hopeless in a long while. She had forgotten what the weird feeling was, and had kind of missed it over the years. But now wasn't the time to experience them again.

Omari felt so mad. She couldn't go on like this. Her taijutsu skills would falter horribly, and the chakra flow to her hands had to stop soon, or else her hand would implode. This had happened once before in her trainee days when Tarina wasn't monitoring her. It wasn't a pleasant experience. It had taken nearly a month to recover and resume life as a ninja.

She had to fix the leak by emptying the substance inside of it. She began to build up her second line of hidden chakra, the green chakra. It was much more explosive than her regular blue chakra. She emptied some of it into her right arm, concentrating on making it rotate in a spiral around her wrist and hand.

Then, with much more concentration, she focused on her third and final line of chakra. The golden chakra, which was the most powerful, more than a match for Naruto's red chakra. As she waited for her strands of chakra to flow in one direction instead of going all crazy, Hikaru had his chance to strike.

He charged once more, with the sword ready to decapitate Omari, who was in a trance, seemingly fascinated with her arm.

All three of the types of chakra were now spinning around her wrist in a pretty mix of green, gold, and blue. She swung back with her hand, then struck, palm outward, right into Hikaru's chest. The power was not like the Rasengan at all, because it wasn't in a sphere or any particular shape. Just a glowing hand and streams of chakra spinning around her wrist.

"Waaaaaaahhh!" Hikaru screamed out in pain and frustration. It didn't hurt much, but the ground practically exploded in front of him and he was sent flying, actually hitting the ceiling this time. Cursing, Hikaru floated back down and dusted himself off. He realized that he had taken more damage than he had thought. A small hand-shaped wound now was on his lower chest, and it stung. Badly.

Omari glared at her opponent. "I'm not as weak as you think I am."

Hikaru gave off a fake, weak laugh that he hoped would decrease Omari's confidence. "Yeah, right! I was just thrown off guard. That barely even left a mark!" _But...how? She's suddenly learned to control her special powers now without going about like a careless maniac. Her chakra and appearance are keeping their normal forms. She looks totally calm. How can I top that?_

Omari winced again as Hikaru used a mutated form of what looked like a real Rasengan and charged at Omari. This time, it looked even more dangerous than a normal shinobi's one. It was bright red and had death written all over it.

Omari froze, caught by suprise, not thinking, not knowing what to do. How could you dodge a Rasengan made by a monster? She didn't expect the suprise attack. She was too deep in thought and concentration...

"Noooo! Leave her ALOOONNE!" Haku screamed, quickly moving his arms in a motion to protect her. The blood puddle in front of Omari rose up in little droplets, and Haku froze them into bloody little spears and they charged in Hikaru's direction.

Hikaru dodged them all, but it trew him off balance a bit. He kicked off of the wall he was sliding into, and slammed the Rasengan into Omari. Omari caught Hikaru's wrist with her hand in a panic right before it was about to catch her stomach. Hikaru cried out in suprise as Omari quickly slashed at Hikaru with the sword as roughly as possible.

Hikaru pulled away from her strong grip, ducking the next blow, but wasn't even paying attention to Haku, who was right behind him.

"Shattering Ice Feild!" Haku yelled, as thousands of pointed icicles smashed through the floor and chased Hikaru around the room. Hikaru bounded torwards the other side of the room as Haku directed them torwards him. A heavy icy mist hung in the air as soon as the first icicle was emerged.

After all of the icicles had burst through the ground, the mist cleared, and Hikaru stood next to Omari, untouched. As everyone gaped at the surviving monster boy in shock, Hikaru smirked at Haku. "I knew that sticking with your sweetheart would keep me from being hit. You memorized where she was in the room, so you directed them anywhere but there. When the mist appeared, you couldn't even tell that I was next to Omari. You people are pathetic." With that, Hikaru whipped out the Sword of Darkness and swung it at Omari's side.

As a quick, emergency reflex, Omari crouched down, covering her head. The sword didn't go into her side too deeply when she was all scrunched up. When she was hit, she cried out as she watched the blood from her own body spray onto the purple sword, and the stains absorbed into the sword as an instant. She clutched her side in pain, trying not to scream or cry. That would only slow her down.

Hikaru removed the sword from the mute Omari and swung again at her neck, in a move meant to eliminate her from the sick game of death altogether.

"Nooo!" Slicer jumped in with his golden sword and swung it, hard, at Hikaru's head...

The horrid, lethal move stopped. Everything sopped.

Omari looked up and saw the Sword of Darkness, barely touching her throat as Hikaru's eyes were tearing with blood. So was his mouth and fangs.

Everyone stared in shock. Slicer was gagging as Hikaru just removed the bloody sword from the back of his head and looked at Slicer with curiosity in his eyes. He could have been dead. He should have been dead. This boy was a monster. "Is there a problem, Taizo?" He asked.

Slicer stared at his trusty, golden, gore-covered sword and then looked at Hikaru, whos serious head wound healed once it had stopped gushing blood. The blood on the floor steamed, then vanished in about five seconds. "How...how did you...I- don't...I don't understand..."

Hikaru stood up, facing Slicer with a calm, normal look on his face as the last of the blood dripped from his head. Slicer took a step back, horrified. "Dude, are you that dense? Do you really believe that a simple swing of the sword will stop me? That I, an unstoppable _ghost_ would _die_ from _blood loss? _Or _brain damage?! _That a normal, unworthy human like you can rid of me so easily just by protecting a friend? You guys really are goons."

Slicer was still staring, not knowing what to say, taking more steps back from the terrifying ghostly kid standing before him. In Hikaru's eyes, there was nothing but calm, but deep inside of his pupils, there was the true urge to kill.

Hikaru smiled sweetly at him as he proceeded to move forward, putting his own sword away. "You know what I do to humans who stab me in the back of the head?"

Slicer shook his head slightly, shaking. The young man was scared, and everyone could see the look of horror on his face, a mirrored expression of Haku's, Omari's, and Zamu's. That move should of killed him. Hikaru should have been dead. He just should have been dead.

Hikaru ran his tongue over his bloody fangs in a bloodthirsty manner. He held his now _seven_-inch claws at the ready. "You should know these things, Slicer. But, I suppose that's why you stayed a chunin. But...I suppose I'll tell you." He pointed to the balcony. "Out there. You see? There's Kamichi's dead, cold, gory corpse lying out there. I killed him by sheer torture. You don't want to know what that kid went through. He wasn't even concious half the time to see."

Slicer didn't even look in the direction of the balcony. He didn't even look down at his now dropped sword. He was too afraid to make a move. So was everyone else. Everyone, including Hikaru, knew that if Slicer moved, he was dead meat. Literally.

Hikaru smiled an innocent yet bloodthirsty smile at the same time. "Hey, Slicer, I have an idea! How about after I rip you to shreds, you can ask Kamichi in the spirit world all of the details of your death. I'm sure he's watching and crying for you up there. He'll be able to tell you."

Slicer moaned and twitched. He couldn't even move his legs. They were like jelly. He couldn't move. He didn't dare to move, or he would die an even more painful death than he was about to experience now. Hikaru was going to kill him. Hikaru was going to tear Slicer into peices and eat them. It was just like the dream he had when he was sleeping at the hospital. When Hikaru was about to kill him, Slicer woke up. But now...there wouldn't be any waking up. This time, he'd go to sleep. Forcibly. Permanently. Painfully...

Hikaru grinned and raised a huge claw as far up as his arm could hold it. Slicer braced himself, without any weapon or line of defense...Hikaru would just block it. It was too horrifying to think about...

Nobody moved. They couldn't move. If they came forward to help at all, Hikaru would just kill Slicer in a heartbeat. Nothing could be done.

_It was nice knowing me...it looks like this is it..._Slicer grunted inside of his head, taking a step back, longing for his precious sword to protect him. Longing for the courage to fight against his old teammate. Longing for all of this to be over with. Looking into Hikaru's eyes...he couldn't bear it...

Hikaru swung his right claw at Slicer's face.

Slicer squeezed his eyes shut. _Why am I suddenly so afraid of him? I'm such a coward...and now I'm gonna pay for my weakness..._

Just as the claw was about to hit, Zamu jumped right behind him, screaming, "Slicer! You idiot!" He snatched Slicer out of the way and threw his tense, stiff body onto the ground. Zamu zoomed over and grabbed Hikaru's hand with all of his might, and slammed Hikaru's threatening claw onto the hard ground. His black steel-like claw was shattered to the ground in hundreds of peices. Only bits and peices of fragments remained on his hand. Everyone (except Hikaru) froze and said nothing.

_When it comes to protecting his best friend, there's no stopping Zamu, even his naturally nervous personality. Geez. _Omari thought.

Hikaru screamed like a young shrieky schoolgirl who had broken a nail. "Aaaaagh! Zamuuuuuuu!!" Hikaru screeched at the top of his lungs as Zamu backed off a bit and bent down to help his best buddy.

"I can't just let you rip Slicer's face off like that!" Zamu growled. "Go ahead and try to kill me, and you'll see. Your claws and fangs will be broken to bits! So will your Sword of Darkness!"

"Alright, I will! Come here and face me, you goony coward!" Hikaru threatened in that monster-metallic voice of his, ignoring his shattered claw.

"Why don't _you_ come over _here_ and face _me?_ Just leave them alone for now. They've had their fair share of action. I'm the one you're after. I know how much you want my powers. All you have to do is kill me and you can have it all." Haku said with a murderous look in his icy blue eyes. He was mad now.

Hikaru whipped around to face him. "Okay, Haku. Bring it on !" He summoned.

Haku wasn't charging. With a few motions with his hands, the remaining part of Hikaru's claws on both hands suddenly froze as Haku held his hands out, palms open, threatening to rid of them forever.

Hikaru looked at his frozen claws and scowled back at Haku from across his room. "Mess with my claws and I'll throw you off the edge of this tower _after_ you watch me kill the rest of your friends!" He threatened, trying to keep from screaming for help.

Haku closed his hands, and his claws shattered into icy peices onto the hard ground, melting in an instant. Hikaru's normal short fingernails grew back on his "What claws? I see no claws on your hands. Just fingernails." Haku pretended to look suprised.

"Rrrrr...that's IT!" Hikaru screamed, charging at Haku as fast as his legs could carry him. "You're going to die, right here and now!" He whipped out Kamichi's Dark Kunai and held it at the ready.

"Haku...be careful..." Omari weakly whispered, still holding her wounded side.

As Hikaru swung, Haku teleported to the other side of the room behind Hikaru, and charged again. Hikaru cried out and whipped around as he saw Haku run up behind him.

Hikaru swung the kunai in the other direction, trying to get Haku. It missed. Haku grabbed Hikaru's furry wrist in a super-tight grip that almost hurt Hikaru.

As Haku was hanging on with one hand, he made a few hand signs with the other. Hikaru wildly thrashed to pull away, knowing what was coming with those types of hand signs. Haku finished making the complicated one-handed signs and then chanted one of his most dreaded jutsu. "Secret Art: A Thousand Needles of Death!"

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"Kamichi..." Tarina whispered, tears flowing down her burning hot cheeks. "I can't believe this has happened to you...Why did this have to happen to you?! It should have been me..."

"You still love Hikaru now?" Zabuza turned to her. "This is why you shouldn't love a person like this. They betray you. They murder the ones you care about. I'm not and never will be an innocent man, and I kill many innocent men, but _this..._" He shook his head sadly.

"I...I..." Tarina sobbed. She fell into Zabuza's arms, crying her eyes out. She couldn't bear to see Kamichi's wide, frightened eyes again. It was too much pain. "I...do...love...Hikaru. ...It's just that...why is he doing all of this?!"

"Why?! Why do you love Hikaru?! There's nothing you can love about Hikaru!!" Zabuza said angrily. Tarina knew that he wasn't turning his back on her, just in shock that Tarina still cared about their worst enemy.

"I love him...because...he's...family." Tarina managed to squeak out, wiping her running nose.

"No, he's not! What are you talking about, 'he's family'?! Look what he did to our friend! Look at Kamichi's cold, messy corpse, lying on the cold, hard ground! You call that forgivable?!"

"You...you don't understand..." Tarina whispered in a frightened whisper, looking Zabuza straight in the eye and backing away from him. Tears were still trickling down her face.

"Understand what?! Tell me." Zabuza demanded.

"I...can't..." Tarina shook her head and pulled away as Zabuza tried to give her a small hug.

"Yes. You _have_ to tell me. What is it?!" Zabuza insisted loudly. Then, realizing how mean he was sounding, he lowered his voice. "You can tell me anything."

Tarina gulped, then shivered. "He needed love...although I feared him. I was the one who had to love him because...he is my family. Literally."

"What?! What do you mean, 'litterally'?!"

"I'm so sorry this is how this is, Zabuza...I should have told you all my secret with Hikaru before, but I couldn't bear to tell after what happened with him trying to kill us. I couldn't even bear to tell Omari about this. I was worried that she would become afraid of me." Tarina shook her head, sniffling. "But..."

"What?!" Zabuza yelled, needing to know Tarina's big secret.

"...You know that there's a monster inside of Hikaru, right? His Kekkei Genkai is very abnormal, and he can transform into that hideous thing..." Tarina started.

"Yeah, what about it?" Zabuza pressed on.

"Well...I have it, too. I share that abnormal trait with Hikaru. I posess the monster's twin. Even though Hikaru's is the dominant one and wants to take control of everything and everybody, mine could do the same any time now, especially with Hikaru's monster released right now." Tarina said. "The truth is..."

Zabuza stood there, waiting for Tarina's dreaded words, shaking.

"...I'm Hikaru's older sister."

_**...Back In Hikaru's Room...**_

"Ooooooww!" Hikaru screeched as the needles hit. Obviously, he wasn't suffering that much. The amount of blood was minimal as Haku leapt away from the site of his attack, watching as the icy needles obeyed their master. The monster Hikaru looked like a pincushion, but then puffed out his damp, and the needles shot out of his fur like a bottle cork. With Hikaru puffing out his fur, he looked even more muscular than before, more veins showing all over his body.

Hikaru scowled at Haku as Haku calmly observed from afar. Haku looked calm, but he was exploding with shock and nervousness at the same time. The ability to repel the senbon remided Haku of Naruto's power. But Naruto's power was considered worthless compared to Hikaru's. This was bad.

As wave of unconfidence washed over Haku's body. _But...but...if I lost to Naruto, how can I beat this kid? _He sulked inside of his head. _Hikaru displays a much greater amount of power than Naruto. What if he destroys me and I will once again be useless to everyone? I can't lose. This is for Kamichi and everyone else, including Omari. I just can't lose..._

Hikaru looked even more demented than before. Hikaru was feeling his body change even more. Normally, he wouldn't get so hyper and angry about a few needles, maybe even laugh at Haku, but he could feel himself growing a whole new personality. His vocal cords suddenly got a fuzzy feeling. He tried to say something, to hear himself talk, but all that came from his mouth was a screechy, mutant bat-like noise. No. Midnight Demon was taking over his body again, like before, when his big sister had to kill him for letting it get partially loose. But...this time, it was even stronger than ever.

It was thirsty.

For blood _and_ power. It wanted so much, that even it's own thoughts that it shared with Hikaru was enough to make him sick. If the demon simply and completley broke loose from his body (which didn't have a seal to lock it in), then it would try to conquer the world, which would cause Tarina's inside monster to burst as well. The Sunrise Demon was just as horrid. It was why Tarina had always used to glare at the moon so much. Her glaring had always puzzled the Kingpin Kunais, all except for Hikaru. Now...they were about to find out why.

Hikaru's blue fur had turned to a shiny black color with stranger markings down his back, tail, around his face, and stomach. Baby blue streaks highlighted some parts of his fur-covered body, like around his now super-soft kitten palms. The kitten palms were very soft and squishy, as a regular kitten's palms are, but Hikaru's could still pack a punch (or at least a slap). At the top of his palms were his new claws, the most dangeous physical trait about him besides his fangs.

"What are you waiting for?!" Haku called to Hikaru across the room. "I thought that you wanted this battle!"

"Uuuuuaaarrgh!" Hikaru screamed out in anger at Haku, now even more enraged that he had lost his ability to speak. "Rrrrrrrgh!" Even if he had the ability to speak, he probably would have made that noise. It made him mad when the Midnight Demon took over his beautiful body and wouldn't let him make his own decisions. He was just a tool. The very thought made Hikaru angry, but now, his thoughts were jumbled...

The demon wanted to make a full transformation. To just absorb the human heart inside and do it's own thing.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaagh! Heelllpp m-rrrrraarrgh! Must...kill...my...rival!" Hikaru was screaming, as more horrid features criscrossed his now huge body, more veins popping out, more spikes, more fur, more...

As Hikaru's thoughts were running away from him, the pain started to come in. The Midnight Demon wanted out of Hikaru for good, and now Hikaru would be powerless. "Nnnooooooo! Please! Don't do this to me!" He screamed in the monsterous language he now obtained. His vocal cords began to feel even more fuzzy now...he was the fighting words that were automatically coming from his mouth...words that were not his...

_"Farewell, you ruthless little brat...I'm stealing the show now, so why don't you jut sit back, relax, and enjoy the show? I've got my own agenda to attend to. You've got me to where I need to be. Now, it's my turn to show the Hidden Mist Village what I can do..." _

Haku, Omari, Slicer, and Zamu were all huddling together, staring in horror at the growing monster, trying to grow even larger and make a complete transformation. Hikaru would be spit out, and the demon would be free. The Midnight Demon was coming. The seal on Hikaru's forehead was glowing and breaking. The growing demon had to be about seven feet tall by now, at the least.

"I...what...what is that?!" Omari screamed in horror, her deep wound forgotten at the moment. Everyone wondered whether they should fight or flight. The monster inside of Hikaru was actually separating from him, and nobody knew what to do.

_**...Skyvoid Tower: Balcony...**_

"Come on, Zabuza! Just whack it a little harder!" Tarina cried pitifully, ramming herself and a newly made Electric Kunai onto the cage wall once again.

"I...don't think I can...do this much longer..." Zabuza puffed, wiping the spot where his eyebrows were supposed to be. He picked up his now scratched-up guillotine sword, and held it at the ready. "If...it...doesn't work...this time...then...it's...hopeless." He gasped. They had been doing this for nearly an hour straight, without any breaks. The cage was pretty large, too, so they had done a great deal of running and ramming.

Tarina glanced at the lifeless form of Kamichi. More like a tear-filled glare. Her ghostly hands wrapped around the cage bars and she squeezed. "No. We can't give up. We have to get out of here and save everyone, including Hikaru and you. Hikaru and I...we can't hold it in for much longer. We're...we're monsters. The five Ultra Kunais are here in the same building...it's going to happen. And when it does...Zabuza...you have to keep away from me. No exceptions. I can't have any of you getting hurt. This thing...inside of me...can rip apart both spirits and humans, so..."

"...I understand..." Zabuza nodded slightly, although a bit hurt that Tarina had been keeping these things from everyone for so long. He also felt sorry for Tarina as well, that she had a horrible demon thing inside of her that would take over her entire body. She would never be the same.

Tarina sniffed. "Omari...she'll hate me for what I really am. I...I know it. She hates Hikaru and is so afraid of him...and I'm his sister. Can you imagine what she'll feel when she finds out about this?!"

Zabuza didn't know what to say at that point. He sady shook his head, utterly speechless. This time, he had no remarks, arguments, reassuring comments, or even any sarcastic things to say. What was going to happen was going to happen. There was nothing, absolutley nothing, to stop the upcoming war between the Sunrise Demon and the Midnight demon.

Tarina looked up and faced Zabuza with a feirce look in her eyes. "But we have to get out of here. Now. It's our only hope of making it out of here alive, even though I most likely will not ever be the same again." She said, stepping to the back of the cage and holding her kunai up.

"...Ri-right." Zabuza whispered, trembling as he clutched his precious, yet beat up sword.

This was it. They were going to escape.

And yet, they were only escaping to be caught again. Caught up in the battle between two demons for the world.

What could possibly be worse than that?

_**...Meanwhile...**_

Omari was screaming, crying in fear of the eleven-foot tall demon, clutching onto Haku as tight as possible, who was staring at the hideous Midnight Demon in horror. Zamu and Slicer were not screaming nor crying, but anyone could tell that they were a frightened as ever, too. None of them had no idea what would become of them.

"Muahahahaha..." The Midnight Demon cackled. He turned to look at the Kingpin Kunais with his peircing red eyes. "Well, well, if it isn't Omari and the gang! Hikaru and I put on a couple of good shows for you, didn't we? Well, now, you'll get to see the biggest one yet, then I'll kill you!"

"Aaa-ahhhhhh!" Omari buried her head down into Haku's chest. The demon was too horrid to look at. It was probably the most hideous thing ever to walk on all fours.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" The demon said with a smirk on his face. "I don't need this brat of yours anymore. Here you go, just in case you all get lonely while waiting for my return." With a cough-like reaction from the Midnight Demon's mouth, it spit out a slimy figure that landed just beside the Kingpin Kunais. It was Hikaru, who then opened his eyes and sniffled. He looked completley normal now, although he was missing his cape and the kunais that were sticking out of his pockets.

Ignoring the saliva-slime covering his body, Hikaru stood up, faced the demon, and screamed out at him. "Heeeey! You smelly furball of a goon! You promised me you'd help me out for the rest of eternity as long as I did what you wanted, and look at me now! Now I'm spit-covered, demonless, and not the least bit frightful! I'm helpless! You're just going to spit me out and leave me with these freaks?!" Now that he was spit out and back to normal, he could speak freely.

"Sure, why not?" The Midnight Demon grinned, then shrugged.

"Aaaaaaaarrgh!" Hikaru screeched and charged at the demon as fast as he could, with nobody to hold him back. The demon waited for Hikaru to come to him, waiting for his lunch.

"Hikaru! Get away from there! You'll be killed! Stay BACK!" Tarina screamed, suddenly bursting in from the balcony door with Zabuza, rushing over, and restraining him. She was crying at the same time, trying to pull Hikaru into a hug. Zabuza had backed off to Haku and the others against the wall, watching the scene unfold.

Hikaru shoved her away. "I would watch it if I were you," He said in a low, threatening tone.

Tarina shoved him back, hard. "What do you think you're gonna do about it?! Turn into a demon and bite my head off?! You're powerless, you idiot!" She felt so mad at her little brother for always being so selfish and bloodthirsty. Hikaru made her sick to her stomach. Tarina felt so angry, that she whipped out her hand and smacked Hikaru as hard as she possibly could, right across the face. He deserved it, anyway. She loved him, and missed him when she was in the cage, but her entire feelings torwards him were changed now.

Hikaru was about to do something nasty back to her, maybe kill her, but he was useless. No weapons. No chakra or effective jutsus. The Midnight Demon had stole all of his good jutsus. After the blow that Tarina had given him, he had looked enraged. But now, his eyes and lip looked a bit wobbly.

As Tarina turned away, Hikaru went after her and tapped her on the shoulder, making sure not to be too rough. "Tarina..." He sniffled, touching his burning red cheek. Tears were trickling down his cheeks for the first time in five years.

"No! Get away from me, and stay away from me!" Tarina yelled at Hikaru in rage, shoving the crying boy away even farther. Then, there was a flicker.

Just a twitch.

So fast, that only Hikaru could notice it. Tarina had hit him, but not a regular hit. It was a single strike of the Sunrise Demon, that had thrust out it's fist at it's enemy's former host, and sent Hikaru stumbling to the ground, bleeding heavily from the lower eyelid and nose. Tarina's transformation had begun. Only, this time, the demon inside of Tarina liked her and her Kekkei Genkai. It wasn't spitting her out anytime soon.

While the Midnight Demon observed with interest, everyone else stared at Hikaru and Tarina in shock. They didn't see that coming. Tarina had just twitched, and Hikaru was on the ground, bleeding, trying not to start bawling from having his power being taken away and from being hit.

"Tarina...?" Omari whispered in wonder. "What was that-"

"So, it's you, Tarina!" The Midnight Demon called out in a mixture of anger and glee. "I thought the brat took care of you quite a while ago. Well, I suppose that's what makes him a worthless punk. Oh, well. Anyway, I can't have you idiots running back down to Earth, trying to mess up my plans, especially you, Tarina." The Midnight Demon took a big leap torwards the group.

"What...what are you planning to do with us?" Haku asked bravely to the monster.

The Midnight Demon smirked as he took out the five Ultra kunais, and held them up in his hand. A few streams of brilliant color came from his hand, and then a very large cage planted itself onto the ground from nowhere.

Haku wasn't concerned about the fact that they were about to be imprisoned in a matter of moments. There was something bigger. Much bigger. "He...manipulates the kunais. He can make or do whatever he wants with them!" He whispered in shock.

Before Haku could ponder this and consider the tremendous amount of power that this demon now obtained, the demon started to manipulate their bodies by lifting them up without physical contact and leading them torwards the cage that lay open. Haku struggled to get free. He could manipulate water, but not humans.

Or could he?

The inside of the human body was 70 percent water, so if he used enough chakra...

Haku tried as hard as he could, but it was no use. There was already a stronger force manipulating where he was going. If he couldn't manipulate himself, then he at least had to manipulate Kamichi's body to join them in the cage. It just didn't seem right to leave Kamichi's body out there all by itself. He manipulated Kamichi from the open blacony door to the cage as he and the others were dumped in as well.

The Midnight Demon screamed with laughter. "Taking your little dead friend with you? How precious is that? Pff. Pathetic. I'll be back for you mortals later..." He growled and burst out of the balcony door, out to take over the whole world below.

"Nooooo!" Haku slammed himself against the hard cage, making one of the bars vibrate from the impact. It was no use. Each bar was larger than him. Even if he froze the bars and then tried to break them off, there was still solid steel under the ice that had no cracks in the bars at all. Ice creeping into cracks in the steel would be ideal for breaking out, but there was none.

Omari sat up from her lying position, and made a mental status report of everyone in the cage. Hikaru was lying in a corner, motionless. Kamichi's body lay, as lifeless as could be, in the middle of the cage. Haku was near one of the bars, glaring, cursing himself for not having enough strength to win. Zabuza and Slicer were just sitting there by Kamichi. Zamu was fretfully pacing the floor along the front wall behind Haku. Tarina was sitting in another corner, looking horribly depressed. Everyone looked hopeless and depressed, but Tarina looked the worst. Omari wanted to comfort her.

"Tarina...?" Omari gently whispered to her, coming closer. "Don't be sad. We'll...find a way to bust out of here. I know it seems impossible, but we've been through alot of things that seemed impossible."

Tarina turned to her with tears in her eyes and a glare on her face. "Don't come any closer. Don't come near me at all."

Omari's eyes instantly filled up with tears. She wondered if Tarina was blaming all of this on her. Omari wondered if Tarina was angry with her about something. The way Tarina said it was so vile, that Omari was amost afraid to ask. "Wh-what?! Why?! A-are you mad at me?" She came even closer.

Tarina's eyes grew wider and colder. "I said, get back! Get away from me! You don't want to come any closer!" She was cloe to bawling now.

So was Omari. One more step closer. "Tarina...?"

"No! I'm not mad at you! I hope that answers your question. Now, just get away from me!"

Omari ignored her demand, now kneeling next to her. "Please, Tarina. Just tell me what's wrong with you!" She reached for Tarina's shoulder.

Tarina twitched.

Omari gasped as Tarina now held Omari's neck in a near death grip, almost choking her. Tarina's eyes went from mischevious, sparkling, and silver, to a bright eerie red. "Stay away from me, unless you want to die." She said, yanking her hand back from poor Omari's neck. Tarina gave her a hard shove away, knocking Omari down.

Omari was shocked, tears streaming down her bright red face. She put a hand to her throat, which still hurt from where Tarina had gripped it. She could feel her pulse beating wildly as she stared at her best friend in horror. "Tarina..."

"Don't try that again. That was your last warning. I...I don't want to kill you."

"But...why would you kill me?!" Omari whispered, absolutley refusing to stay away from Tarina. She got up and stood where she was before, next to Tarina. Everyone knew that Omari wasn't the type to just let things go, never knowing what was wrong with her best friend.

"It's because I'm a monster," Tarina said, sounding more like a growl than a hushed whisper. "I'm the same as-" Tarina twitched again, lunging for Omari.

"Aaah!" Omari cried, jumping back as Tarina grabbed her arm as hard as possible and pulled the shocked and frightened Omari down. Tarina flashed a sudden bloodthirsty smile, whipping out long, shining white claws. Omari's pupils grew huge as Tarina slashed at Omari's upper chest, close to her neck. When Tarina's claws came in contact with Omari, Omari was sent sprawling into the cage wall on the other side.

Omari stood. She was sobbing, clutching her bleeding chest, her shirt torn. "I'm...not...going...to leave you alone untill...you can...tell me what's wrong with you!!" She yelled, starting for Tarina once more.

Hikaru got up and ran to Omari. He grabbed her by the waist and tried to pull her back. "Leave Tarina alone, you goon! How dumb can you be?! Do you WANT Tarina to eat your guts?!"

Omari punched him right in the face, sending him back. "_SHUT UP!!_ This is all your fault anyway! None of this would have happened if it weren't for you! And, Tarina would never do such a thing to me!" She went for her best friend. tears in her eyes. If Tarina realized what she was doing, maybe she would snap out of it.

Haku ran over and restrained Omari, along with Slicer, Zamu, Hikaru and Zabuza. "...No! Leave Tarina alone! I'm not letting you die!" Haku screamed as everyone pulled on her, trying to make her leave Tarina alone for her own safety.

Omari shoved the boys away from her and ran for Tarina. When she kneeled next to her, Tarina glared into Omari's soft dark eyes. Tarina's menacing, red-eyed look somehow didn't tear apart the serious yet caring look on Omari's face. Omari wouldn't take her eyes away from Tarina's. She wouldn't look away. She wasn't fearful enough. It made Tarina so mad...

Tarina lashed out at Omari in madness, using both claws this time. Omari took out her kunai and stopped the attack in a flash. Tarina still stared at Omari with her eerie, stony eyes. "I said, leave me alone!" Tarina didn't even have her normal voice anymore. It belonged to a monster.

"What...what are you?" Omari shook her head, eyes opened in horror. "I don't understand. You...you just tried to kill me."

"Did I not just tell you?!" Tarina snarled. "I'm a monster! I've always been a monster! I can't explain it any more than that! I'm Hikaru's sister."

"Wh-what?!" Omari whispered in shock. "You mean-"

"Uugh...yes!" Tarina was struggling to keep her voice box intact for a few more seconds. "I-uurgh...I'm the same as him, but the-...monsters inside of us are rivals...Hikaru's went right out of him, but mine-uugh...seems to have formed a bond with me..." She growled, but tears were still forming in her eyes.

"Tarina...but...I can't believe..." Omari was in shock.

"I-...I'm sor-...just stay away from me, okay?!?" Tarina's personality was changing as well as her voice. Her voice was at the third and final step of the change. First, her words were coming out sounding very gruff. Next, she was speaking freely, but only in a monster's voice. And now, her vocal cords went all fuzzy, and she could only grunt and growl if she wanted to. Her body was capable of speech, but it would be the monster controlling the words coming out, not Tarina.

Omari backed up to the other side of the cage wall. She was trembling as she watched the bright yellow seal on Tarina's head start to glow and expand itself...her body was changing...it was growing huge and furry and spiky and...

Within seconds, Tarina was no more.


	21. Aftermath: 12: A Deal Is A Deal!

_**Aftermath: 12: A Deal Is A Deal!**_

_**Note: This chapter didn't take me TOO long to work on considering how long it is. There's many hints and different meanings in this chapter, so you have to either read very carefully or even go back and scan some of the other chapters from before. This one's mostly made up of dialogue, not too much action. But it's important dialogue, so don't skip a single word! **_

_**ALSO!!: The Aftermath part of the series is slowly but surely coming to an end!! (aww!) Next is the Lonely Remedy, only a couple chapters long, and then The End, only 2 chapters in all. Then comes the Extras. MORE ABOUT THIS TOPIC AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE!!**_

_**As I always say...HAPPY READING!!**_

Omari screamed. "Tarina!! Tarina!! Wha...what are you?!" She said in horror at the monster that now stood before her. It was Hikaru's monster, but it was a bit smaller with golden-yellow fur, and whiskers on the side of it's eyes. It looked really agile, almost like a horned cat and dinosaur mixed.

The Sunrise Demon suddenly looked at Hikaru with murder in her eyes. "YOU!!"

"Ahhhh!!" Hikaru jumped back a bit. "Don't look at me like that! The demon's out there! ...Just don't eat me!" He begged, jumping into Haku's arms and pointing to where the Midnight Demon was.

The Sunrise Demon had none of it. She roughly swiped Hikaru away from Haku and held him up in the air. "I ought to crush you for hosting my enemy so kindly! Now everything is ruined! I should have crushed you when the Midnight Demon was still inside! This is all your fault!" She growled.

Hikaru screamed. "Noooo!! I don't want to die! Put me down this instant, you goon!" He kicked and squirmed as a young child might. "Waahh-haahh! Somebody help me!"

"Dumb coward..." Haku cursed Hikaru under his breath as he stood up and faced the Sunrise Demon. "Let him go. Please." He requested boldly.

"What will you give me in return?" The Sunrise Demon grinned evilly.

"Absolutley nothing!" Omari screamed, pushing Haku aside. "You can keep Hikaru and do whatever you want with him whenever you want. We don't need that selfish idiot around anymo-"

Haku grabbed Omari and covered her mouth just in time before she finished her sentence. "Stop it. He's one of us." He whispered harshly to Omari, then throwing her aside none too gently. Everyone could tell Haku was upset and angry about the whole situation. He turned back to the golden demon that stood before them. "What do you want from us?"

"You." The Sunrise Demon grinned.

"What?! Me?! What do you need me for?!" Haku yelled.

"I want to use your power. Besides, the amazing power of the Hyoton is something that the Midnight Demon and I have been seeking for years. You're the last one."

"But I'm dead." Haku replied stonily, pulling up his sleeve a bit to show the demon his slightly glowing skin. "Don't you know a ghost when you see one? It was really hard to get here, but-"

"You've still got the power to fight, okay? You're the only ghost with the Hyoton who's not long dead and still a kid!" The Sunrise Demon growled.

"I don't know about that...what will happen to Tarina?" Haku said uncertainly.

"It's only temporary." The Sunrise Demon said. "And Tarina? I'll spit her out as soon as this is over. You help me destroy my enemy and destroy the village. And as a reward for helping me destroy the Midnight Demon, I would give you and all of your dead friends' lives back, including Tarina. Oh, and if you fail to help me win, and we both die, then the Midnight Demon will come up to the remains of this tower and kill the rest of your friends. That should be a big enough consequence."

Haku slightly gasped at the offer. The choice to return from the dead? To be a part of the world again? To be able to team up with his friends again? Haku looked around at everyone, who looked at Haku with concern.

What if he accepted the offer? It sounded good, but how could he trust a demon? And everyone and everything in the world would die if the Sunrise Demon or the midnight Demon won. Where would they live? Everyone and everything in the would be gone, and it would be all because of a few stupid lives. And those lives would soon end, because no human could live anywhere without a planet!

Then again, if Haku didn't help the demon, there was the chance that the Hidden Mist (not to mention every other village) would still be destroyed if they failed in saving it. And saving it meant that they would have to get through killing both the Sunrise and Midnight Demon, which would be unbelievably difficult. If they ever succeeded in doing _that, _then Tarina would be gone for good. Also, Hikaru would be eaten if he didn't accept the offer.

After a few minutes of silence, Haku finally looked up at the Sunrise Demon again. "But...for us, this is a no win situation! I mean, you and the Midnight Demon are BOTH evil and want to destroy the village, but each of you want to do it yourselves. There's no way we can save the village or the world or anything! Either way, our village will be gone unless we fought and beat you, which we can't do because we're all to weak!"

"Stop all of this blathering! How about this? If you help me win the battle, then I just might spare your little world below after making sure at least the Hidden Mist village is out of the way. How's that? Maybe you could choose sometime today?!"

After a couple more minutes of thinking, Haku sighed slowly and sadly. They were totally trapped. Their whole village would be gone no matter what. "Okay. Although I'm not sure it's the best choice, I've come to a decision."

_**...Meanwhile...**_

_I..._

_I hear voices..._

_And they sound real this time. Is that...Haku? What is he talking about with who? Something about how he's decided to help someone fight? Who?? There's going to be a fight? And who's that deep, monster voice laughing like that?_

_Aw, man! I missed everything! Now I'm really confused. When I wake up, I'll be totally clue-...Wait...when will I wake up? Will I ever wake up? I don't even know if I'm dead or not! Wow, I'm hopeless..._

_Well, if this is death, then it sucks. It's torture. It's boring, and I can't see anything or move around the least bit. I can only hear some faint voices...and I don't know which way is up. Gosh, I wish I had a hearing aid..._

_Ouch...my head...is pounding right now. Or is that my stomach pounding from where Hikaru hit me? _

_Wait...is that Hikaru?! It...sounds like he's yelling at Haku. Something about regretting his choice. Nah, that can't be Hikaru...he's supossed to be dead or at least knocked out, right? In the top floor of the castle, Haku, Omari, Slicer, and Zamu were supossed to go up there and fight him, and then set Tarina and Zabuza free. Who is that monster's voice from!?_

_Dang it! I don't even know where I am! How am I in the same room with Haku and Hikaru, and there's no fighting going on?_

_If I'm not dead by now, then I'll surely die of aggravation pretty soon Oh, great.. Now I'm starting to hear Zabuza's voice. Wasn't he supossed to be locked up somewhere in the castle? Where's Tarina, I wonder?_

_UUUGHH!!! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON???!?_

_**...Back On The Balcony...**_

The Midnight Demon set the five Ultra Kunais down on the ground, setting them up so they circled it's body. The Midnight Demon then pulled out the Electric Kunai, and tossed it over the edge. He didn't need that peice of junk anyway. The demon now concentrated as hard as he could, summoning the power within the five kunais. In seconds, the kunais would zap him with the chakra held inside, engolfing him with energy that the Sunrise Demon and Tarina would have no way of defeating.

The Ultra Kunais arose from the ground by a foot or so, connecting themselves between a glowing blue cord-like structure around the Midnight Demon, but...when the kunais raised and righted themselves, they didn't form a complete circle. There was an opening.

"What's this?! There's still one more? I...I don't understand. I have the Stone Kunai, the Light Kunai, the Dark Kunai, the Golden Kunai, and the Crystal Ice Kunai. What's next? Surely not that Electric Kunai, because it is not rare or powerful enough to work. The same with a Brick Kunai." He scratched his head, thinking about what in the world would come next. The stupid demigodly kunais that any fool could make were avaliable, but there was nothing special left to create an Ultra Kunai from. The five Ultra Kunais were great weapons to use together, but they were nothing compared to all six of them.

The Midnight Demon thought hard about what other sorts of kunais were out there. There were Candy Kunais, but those were sweets for small children back on Earth that Tarina used to eat all of the time when she was young. There were toy plastic ones for either non-shinobi kids playing war, or for relaxed training. There were the regular metal ones, but the Midnight Demon didn't sense nearly enough power held inside.

After Hikaru had died, the Midnight Demon hadn't released himself from Hikaru's dead body. He had actually trusted Hikaru to host his spirit even in the afterlife. It was a stupid, stupid choice.

"Uugh!! It's hopeless! I know nothing! My host wasn't good enough to find useful information I could use to gain power! That little punk Hikaru failed me so badly...wait till I get my claws on that guy! I'll wring his little neck so tightly that-"

The Midnight Demon was interrupted from his curses as he sensed something. Something big. He put his claws on his temples and concentrated on foreseeing what was coming. There was two things.

One, was the Sunrise Demon. She had poofed out of the cage with one of the kids that were also trapped in there, and...it looked like the human had made alliances with his enemy. The Midnight Demon squinted to see the details of the human boy. It was one of the smaller males that was in there. The one with the puppyish face and long hair. Hmm. Not a bad choice.

Their arrival was in about ten minutes since they were coming around from the other side of the castle, probably to prepare for battle and make plans. Idiots. They didn't know that the Midnight Demon could see them.

The Midnight Demon suddenly realized that he had no extra force of power like his arch enemy had managed to obtain. The Ultra Kunais didn't work that well by themselves since he didn't have the sixth. He didn't even have time to figure out what it was that made another special kunai.

As his mind began to ponder a bit, he suddenly realized that he didn't look at the other thing that was coming.

The Midnight Demon rubbed his temples and squeezed his eyes shut to see the image that appeared to his mind. It was...it was a capsule with two different colors on it. Medicine? Wait...now another image came into a view. It was a heart. It was still as the capsule suddenly disappeared into, but after a few seconds, it started to beat and pump blood again.

A heart was coming?

The Midnight Demon didn't understand at first. It was a heart. It started out not beating, but then it began to beat again...

A smirk crossed the Midnight Demon's face. _That kid. _

"So...he toughed it out, didn't he?" The demon cackled softy to himself. "He really didn't die. It was just a temporary death state capsule that made him look dead. It was all clear to him now. The capsule only had it's effect on Kamichi a bit early because he was young. And, with all of the wounds that Hikaru gave him, it slowed down the process of Kamichi's recovery.

The kid was alive. And with a bit of the Midnight Demon's healing jutsu, Kamichi would be able to fight. For him. The Sunrise Demon wouldn't be the only one with an extra source of power. This would work out well, after all.

All he needed was a couple minutes...and a good bribe.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"That idiot! That loonatic! That GOON! He took the offer, that selfish creep!" Hikaru screeched, pacing around the cage like a ticked zoo animal.

Omari stood up and dragged him back on the cage floor again. "Shut up. Haku's not a selfish creep. He saved your worthless afterlife, and if he didn't help, then there would be the chance that the Sunrise Demon wouldn't have won and the Midnight Demon make everything worse for us and the world. At least the Sunrise Demon was being remotely agreeable."

"Yeah? Well, then Haku _better_ make sure that the Sunrise Demon wins this so we can all get out of here and go home! And even if he does that, our lives will still be miserabe under the control of the Sunrise Demon. Even if she lets us and the majority of people back on Earth live, we'll be slaves. In addition, we'll never see Tarina again, either. The Sunrise Demon likes and wants to keep Tarina and her power inside of her."

"It's better than everything, including us, just being gone." Zabuza pointed out. "At least we can survive and live on Earth again. And, after after the world domination and everything, we can ask the Sunrise Demon to spit her out. Maybe...we can find another village to all live in together."

"Listen to us goons!" Hikaru yelled. "We sound so pitiful and hopeless! We're trapped! Why can't we bust out of here and do something?!"

"Because the cage is made from indestructable steel, and only the Sunrise Demon can poof people in and out of this place. In this cage, our chakra isn't even intact. It blocks our energy off. The best we can ever do in this cage is only limited taijutsu." Zamu explained. "I've tried striking the cage and it only backfires."

"Shut up, Smarty-Pants! I didn't need a whole two-hour lesson from you!" Hikaru scowled, pulling his legs up to his chest in a grumpy manner.

"Well, we don't need two-hour hissy fits from you, either!" Zamu shot back angrily.

"Everyone shut it!" Slicer said, putting an end to the arising argument. "Calm down! Fighting's not gonna fix anything. Everyone just relax for a minute."

Everyone in the cage stayed silent for about thirty seconds, then scooted closer to one another in pairs or in threes to talk amongst one another quietly. It was the only thing left to do other than panic and hope for the best out of the worst.

As Zabuza, Zamu, and Slicer got in one group in the far right corner of the cage, Hikaru and Omari sat at the opposite sides of Kamichi's body (in the middle of the cage), turned away from one another. They didn't want to talk to each other.

Hikaru felt uncomfortable talking, but the panic bubbling inside of his throat was ready to come out. The only thing to keep away from thinking about it was to talk to Omari. Hikaru turned around and scooted closer to Omari by a few feet, near Kamichi's head. Omari involuntarily shivered and grimaced in disgust. She moved a bit away from him.

Hikaru was hurt. He scooted a bit closer. Omari glanced at Hikaru nervously, arms crossed so tightly that she was practically hugging herself in a sort of protective manner. Hikaru didn't want her to feel threatened, so he decided to talk a bit quieter, but not _too _nice. "Hey, Omari..."

"What?"

"You know how I sort of liked you before...?" Hikaru asked her.

"Yes. I remember." Omari said stonily, getting an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. The thought of her being anything more than enimies with Hikaru made her shiver again. It was what made her stomach feel so unpleasant.

"Well, I was always wondering...why didn't you like me back?"

Omari turned around. "Well..."

"Why?" Hikaru pressed. "Why did you stay away when I was clearly expressing my love for you?" He suddenly looked down. "Was I...too ugly for you?"

"Absolutley not. I always thought you were kind of cute, actually. I still do." Omari said truthfully. "It's just that you were..." Her voice slowly trailed off.

"Too evil?" Hikaru sighed.

"Too evil and creepy. You just gave me an uncomfortable feeling...whenever I was around you. You were so cold." Omari admitted to him. Another personal reason why Omari didn't like him was because he always seemed too childish. Although Hikaru was now almost fourteen years old, he still had a ten-year-old's voice. That wasn't his fault, but the way he was so spoiled and threw tantrums didn't help at all.

"I'm sorry, Omari..." Hikaru whispered, turning away once more, head in his hands. "For...everything."

Of course Omari didn't forgive him. That just wasn't the way things worked with rogue ninja. Omari could kill Hikaru right now for putting them all in this mess, but that _really _wouldn't help anything around here. Omari sighed and didn't reply.

Hikaru knew he deserved to die. He was suprised that Zamu, Slicer, Zabuza, and Omari didn't gang up on him and beat him to death by now. Maybe it was because they were too tired. Or they were too upset about the situation and didn't feel like killing him. Or maybe, it was because they all had hearts and decided not to kill one of their own. For now.

Hikaru felt both vulnerable and guilty. He wanted to grab and kiss Omari, telling her that he was sorry and that he loved her.

"Pff." Hikaru huffed to himself. "Like that's ever gonna fly."

Omari had heard him. She turned slightly. "Like what's ever gonna fly?"

Hikaru smirked evilly and prentended to sigh dreamily. He might as well tell her. They were all dead meat anyway. "Me kissing you and telling you that I love you. That's all." Hikaru was starting to lose it, and he knew it.

"...Oh." Omari said, turning away once more. It sounded more like an 'ew' than an 'oh'.

Hikaru was bewuddled. He wanted her to have a worse reaction from that. He wanted to see the shocked or disturbed looks on everyone's face when he had said that, but now he was powerless and desperate. He started to miss being evil all of a sudden. It was the only thing he'd ever be good for.

And the LAST thing he'd ever be good for.

It was also something he wasn't even good for anymore. The Midnight Demon was right. He _was _a worthless punk.

Hikaru lay his head down on Kamichi's side, curled up in a ball and started to cry his eyes out. There was just nothing else to do. Everything was hopeless.

"Dude, shut up! What is your problem?!" Slicer screamed at Hikaru, although he was looking pretty teary-eyed himself.

"You shut up! I don't have a problem! Unlike all of you dumbnuts, I am actually sane enough to see what's going to happen here!"

"Fine. If you know so much, then what's going to happen?" Zabuza snapped.

"We're all going to DIE here!" Hikaru screeched at all of them, sitting up and throwing his hands in the air. "D-I-E!! Die! There's no hope for us! The Midnight Demon is going to tear Haku, Tarina, and the Sunrise Demon apart!"

"Just shut up about it! Don't say things like that about Haku and Tarina! They're not going to be torn apart! This is all your fault anyway!" Omari growled threateningly at Hikaru.

Hikaru's eyes overflowed with tears by the very mentioning of that. He screamed out in frustration, throwing himself on the ground and trying to tear his own hair from his head. He couldn't even do it, since he was so weak.

"You really are nuts." Zamu said quietly, glaring at Hikaru.

Hikaru sat up with a jolt once again. "No, I'm not!" He screamed in a delusional manner, with a huge grin on his face. "If I were really nuts, I would be doing this!"

Hikaru grabbed Omari and was squeezing both of her arms so tight that she couldn't move. "I love you more than anything I've ever loved, Omari!" Then he leaned in and kissed her right on the lips.

_**...A Few Moments Later...**_

"Mortals!" The Midnight Demon called as he bounded noisily into Hikaru's room, stopping just in front of the cage. There was a slight commotion going on. His gaze suddenly traveled to Hikaru, who was now moaning on the floor, clutching his nose with his one hand, overflowing with blood. "Hey, who transformed into an elephant and stepped on his face?" He taunted, yet fighting the urge to come into the cage and strangle him.

"I did." Omari spoke up, looking at her bloodied fists, which were from after beating him senseless for what he did to her. "Nevermind this disgusting creep, though. What have you come for?"

The Midnight Demon grinned. "It seems that your little friend down there is making a comeback." He pointed at Kamichi, whose body twitched a bit. Everyone wondered how the Midnight Demon had come at just the right time.

"What!?!" Everybody screamed. They all ran over to Kamichi's body.

Zamu gently checked his pulse, looked around at everyone, and nodded in amazement. "It...it's true. He...he is alive." Everyone looked at his chest, which started to slowly move up and down a little.

Omari started crying in pure joy. "KAMICHI!! The capsule did work!!" She screamed in relief, hugging him.

_"No effing way!" _Hikaru screeched at the top of his voice, although he didn't quite say 'effing'. "That little goon actually survived! After all the trouble I went through..." He stomped away to the other side of the cage where no one was, continuing to mend his bleeding nose.

The Midnight Demon and the others were a bit suprised at Hikaru's language, but they soon went back to watching Kamichi awaken.

Kamichi's eyes slowly fluttered open. He moaned, then shut them again. His hands moved to his eyes, which he rubbed like he had just awakened from a catnap. His hands automatically went from his eyes to his stomach. "Owch..."

"Wow...that's one tough kid..." Zabuza and Slicer whispered in unison. They were both in absolute awe.

"Kamichi!" Omari cried again, kissing him on the cheek. Out of all of them, she was the most overwhelmed. "I can't believe-" She was breathless. "A-are you okay?"

"I...I don't know..." Kamichi muttered softly as Omari helped him sit. He looked all over the place, as confused as ever. "Wha...what happened? Where's...Haku and...Tarina?" He then looked over at Hikaru sleepily. The first thing Kamichi noticed was his bleeding nose and black eye. "What...what happened to you? Why are you here?"

Hikaru gave him the middle finger and faced the wall.

Kamichi ignored Hikaru's rudeness and then got one look at the Midnight Demon. He screamed. "Wooooaaahh! What the heck is that?!" He cried, pointing at the demon.

"Well, it's...kind of hard to explain...so much happened in so little time." Omari said gently to him. "The...thing...inside of Hikaru took over his body, then somehow spit him out. I don't know how that's possible, but..."

"Weird." Kamichi glanced at the demon, somehow sensing that it wasn't there to kill them at this very moment. But, the Midnight Demon was staring at him hungrily, as if he wanted something from him. Nervously ignoring the giant demon staring at him, Kamichi decided to ask more questions so he could finally know what was going on. "Why...why are we in this cage?" He said, still clutching his wounded stomach.

"He put us in there." Zamu pointed scornfully at the Midnight Demon. "Tarina's demon released itself, too, but the Sunrise Demon didn't spit her out. The Sunrise Demon and the Midnight Demon are enemies, and now they're going to have a huge war over who gets to blow up the world and each other." He spoke as if he had told the story a million times. "And Haku went with the Sunrise Demon to help in return for sparing most of the planet and our lives. She'll also give back the lives of Hikaru, Haku, Tarina, and Zabuza- if she wins. If she doesn't...we're all dead meat."

"Wait, shouldn't we all be afraid?! Our lives are at stake!" Kamichi screamed.

"No. Why? Being afraid wont do anything for us. There's no way out of the situation." Omari said in a nonchalant tone. Kamichi, unlike everyone else, still noticed a hint of sadness and hope in her voice.

"Oh, but there might be..." The Midnight Demon grinned. "I have a little deal for you as well as the Sunrise Demon."

"Wait, but wouldn't that be double-crossing?" Slicer pointed out. "We're caught in a mini-war here. We made a deal with the Sunrise Demon, so we shouldn't make deals with the enemy. And if the Sunrise Demon ever found out that we were talking to you, then she would probably get angry and kill us."

"Just listen here for a minute, you ignorant mortal!" The Midnight Demon exploded. "Look, the reason why I came here was for him." He pointed at Kamichi.

"Hold on! We're not going through this again!" Omari yelled. "We're not letting Kamichi fight for you. It's wrong to get a kid like him involved in this. Besides, he's too weak to fight."

"Yeah. I think Kamichi's experienced enough violence for one day. Give the kid a break!" Slicer added.

"Hold on. I'm not finished yet." The Midnight Demon said calmly. "You see, since I have a few healing powers, I can get his wounds fixed in no time. He'll be as good as new. No broken arm, no wounded stomach, no anything."

"So?" Zabuza said. "We're still not letting him fight for you. Against Haku."

The Midnight Demon grinned down at Kamichi. "You hear that, puny mortal? They think you're too weak to take on the Sunrise Demon and the other mortal out there."

"Huh?" Kamichi looked hurt.

"What?! We never said that! Don't listen to him, Kamichi. You're a very strong boy." Omari tried to assure him. "It's just that..."

"They think you're a weakling!" The Midnight Demon sang. "A stupid, puny weakling who is too young to fight!"

"I am NOT a weakling!" Kamichi cried, his voice starting to crack. He turned to Omari, his voice lowered a bit. _"I'm not a weakling."_

"Kamichi...we've never said that. The Midnight Demon's just putting this stuff in your head so you'll fight for him." Omari said, eyes wide with worry. "We would never call you a weakling."

"Well, only a weakling is too afraid to face down another shinobi!" The Midnight Demon laughed. "So, why don't you prove yourself by fighting and winning for me? And in return, I could spare your friends and give you partial control over the world that will soon become mine. How does that sound?" The Midnight Demon said with his claws crossed behind his back

"But..." Kamichi protested. "I'd have to fight the Sunrise Demon and Haku. And...if we won, he and Tarina would be dead." He said quietly.

"Who cares about Haku?! You can easily overpower him with me at your side. The point is, if you help me win, I'll spare the planet and you could become a supreme ruler." The Midnight Demon rushed him. "Now, please hurry with your final choice. The Sunrise Demon and her comrade are arriving from the other side of the tower in a matter of minutes."

"Don't do it, Kamichi." Omari grabbed his shoulders, making him look straight into her eyes. "He's lying to you. If you help him fight and win, he'll still kill you, the rest of us, and either kill or enslave everyone else on Earth. Believe me."

Everyone could tell that Kamichi was fed up with being either restrained by adults or being knocked down by them. He wrenched away from her. "NO! I've had enough of you guys telling me what to do! You're just afraid 'cause I can totally crush your boyfriend!"

"What?!" Omari gasped.

_That's my boy..._The Midnight Demon grinned.

"That's right!" Kamichi shouted to everyone. "I'm accepting the demon's offer!" He turned to the demon. "Just heal me and you'll see what I can do."

"You idiot!" Zabuza screamed. "Take it back! Right now! Why are you making a deal with the thing that helped beat you down when you faced Hikaru?!"

"Too late!" Kamichi growled as he reached way over shook hands with the demon through the cage bars. "I already took it."

Omari knew Kamichi was just ticked because he had been through so much in the past few days. But she didn't think about that now. She was too angry. She felt like strangling Kamichi. "You moron! You selfish moron! You better lose this battle!"

"Why?" Kamichi shot back. "You don't want to see your love get beat up by a little kid?"

"NO!" Omari screamed in fury, smacking Kamichi across the face as hard as she could, which wasn't very hard considering how weak she was. "If your side wins, then we'll ALL die! Including you! The Midnight Demon is ripping you off! Don't you see it?! Haku knew what he was doing! The Sunrise Demon had a much more fair offer!"

Kamichi's cheek was bright red, but he didn't even flinch. That was nothing compared to what he went through all of this time. His fists were shaking. He was longing to hit Omari, but was too weak to do it. "Just shut up, Omari. There's nothing you can do about it."

With that, the Midnight Demon poofed into the cage, and put one hand on Kamichi's heart, who was still sitting down. Healing waves and dark chakra was entering his body at a very high speed, and all everyone else could do was watch.

A small glow rushed over Kamichi's entire body, engolfing him. As the glow slowly faded away, everyone stared at Kamichi in shock. He was totally healed as if nothing at all had happened in the past few days. No wounds at all. His cheek wasn't even red anymore. Instead of his normal clothes, which were ripped and torn, he wore a light metal suit that was painted black. It had spikes all over it and covered his entire body, only leaving his head free. His hands were covered in dark purple gloves, and on the back of the suit, there was the dark purple painting of the Midnight Demon's seal.

"Kamichi..." Omari whispered as Kamichi stood. She also stood, walking over to him. "Please...don't do this." She tried to grab him.

"Get away from me." Kamichi growled threateningly, pulling away from Omari. He started to walk torwards the other side of the cage.

Omari dived for him, catching his ankle. She was crying. She wouldn't let go. "PLEASE! KAMICHI!"

Kamichi's eyes flashed red as he reached over, fist now pressed against a metal cage bar. The metal from the cage engolfed his hand, and then metal taken from the huge cage bar was automatically replaced. _"I SAID, GET AWAY FROM ME!"_

Kamichi smacked Omari in the head as hard as possible with his metal fist, sending her flying backwards. She slammed against the wall, and then fell to the floor, unconscious. Omari was bleeding heavily from the side of the head.

Everyone except for the Midnight Demon and Kamichi gasped and ran over to the unconscious girl. The Midnight Demon was grinning. Kamichi was just coldly staring at her from afar, next to the demon. After a few seconds, the others turned to look at Kamichi in shock and anger. It was like a twitch.

A twitch of evil.

"Kamichi...how...how could you? To your own leader?" Zamu said in a hushed whisper, tears in his eyes.

Kamichi didn't respond.

Slicer crossed his arms. "You know what happens to stupid shinobi who strike out at their own leader like that, Kamichi?" He glared at his teammate.

"What?!" Kamichi growled back.

"They get kicked off of the team, or worse..." Slicer replied smoothly, although there was a heavy load of anger in his voice. "Your lucky Omari doesn't wake up right now kill you for that."

Kamichi twitched all of a sudden, feeling slightly guilty for what he had done. He knew at that moment he shouldn't have done it, but it was too late. Omari sort of served as a surrogate mother for Kamichi. It was like knocking out your own mother. "K-kill me?"

"It's the way of the rogue ninja, stupid!" The Midnight Demon said, tugging on Kamichi's arm a bit. "Now, forget these losers and let's go!"

"Okay..." Kamichi whispered nervously, still staring at his teammates, all gathered around Omari, who was still knocked out and bleeding from the blow. Kamichi didn't even know what came over him when he had done that. It must have done with the healing that the Midnight Demon had given him.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Omari..." Kamichi whispered softly as the Midnight Demon made a quick hand sign and both of them appeared outside of the cage in a puff of dark, heavy gray smoke.

"Let's go, comrade." The Midnight Demon smirked evilly as he literally dragged Kamichi outside onto the balcony by the arm.

Kamichi stared at the balcony floor, expecting to see his blood from before. There wasn't. The balcony was completley clean. _Wow! _Kamichi thought. _With the healing process, it was like he took my body back in time AND made me feel stronger than before. Weird..._

A huge booming voice suddenly came from around the huge tower, causing Kamichi to yelp and hide behind the Midnight Demon. "Muahahaha!! You ready to die, brother?!" A monster, which Kamichi supposed was the Sunrise Demon, came out in front of them along with Haku. Haku was dressed in the same armor, only it was a golden color with a sun-shaped seal decorated on it.

Kamichi still stayed hidden.

"Nope." The Midnight Demon grinned back. He pointed to Haku, who glared back. "I see you've got a little company there. You made sure to pick the cream of the crop, didn't you?"

"Indeed I do..." The Sunrise Demon declared. "He's mastered the Hyoton." She bragged.

The Midnight Demon didn't reply.

"Looks like you're outnumbered, baby brother." The Sunrise Demon pretended to sigh pitifully. "I've got the additional power of Tarina and Haku. We'll make an unstoppable team of three." She cackled triumphantly.

The Midnight Demon whipped out the five Ultra Kunais, one on each nail. "We'll see about that." He said. "You see, I've brought a little company from the mortal's cage as well."

"What?!" Haku and the Sunrise Demon gasped.

"That's right." The Midnight Demon said, plucking Kamichi from behind his back. "He just woke up. Too bad you couldn't have _him_. All's I had to do was fix him up. He's ready to take on the world, now."

"Kamichi?!" Haku gasped, staring at his former student in horror. "How...how could you?!"

"I really don't know..." Kamichi said back as a huge metal sword appeared in his hand from nowhere. An evil smirk crossed the young boy's face. "All's I know is that you're going to die here."

"Kamichi..." Haku whispered in shock. "What...what's gotten into you?"

The question seemed to go right through Kamichi. "What's that look on your face all about? You scared to fight me?" His voice was low and deadly. He sounded more like a little goblin than a kid.

That statement made Haku angry now. "Yeah. I'm scared that I'll make you cry so hard that your eyeballs pop out of your head."

Kamichi just glared at Haku.

The Midnight Demon just glared at the Sunrise Demon.

"Back out now, Kamichi." Haku growled at his new enemy. "We're friends. None of us deserve to get hurt over something stupid like this."

"Just shut up. I can take you on." Kamichi challenged.

"No." Haku said sternly.

The Midnight Demon grinned and leaned down, whispering into Kamichi's ear. "Okay, here's the plan. Your enemy is too chicken to start the battle, so just get rid of him as quick as possible. After your done eliminating him, then come and help me with the Sunrise Demon. If you need any help from me, then too bad. I've got my own problems to deal with. Got it?"

"Got it!"

"Alright, then. GO!" The Midnight Demon instructed loudly as he faced off with his own enemy.

With that, Kamichi literally launched himself at Haku at a great speed rate, headbutting him in the stomach. Haku fell back, off of the balcony, but then caught himself using the water manipulation technique. Haku suddenly felt thankful for his Kekkei Genkai. If he really focused on his chakra and his Hyoton, he could basically fly.

Kamichi glared at his frightened enemy, who was floating around in mid-air. "C'mon, you chicken! Aren't you going to hit me back?!"

"No. I don't care if I die or not. I'm not hurting you." Haku glared back. "This is my afterlife. It doesn't matter if I dissolve or not. You, on the other hand, are a kid and have your whole life ahead of you."

"Well, one of us has got to die!" Kamichi said. "Looks like it'll have to be you." He said as he flew at Haku again, throwing a punch at his stomach.

Haku dodged, caught his wrist, and flung him a few yards away. He figured that the Midnight Demon had given Kamichi the ability to fly. "I'm warning you, Kamichi. Give up, while you still have the chance"

Kamichi laughed. "Give up, while I still have the chance? Puh-lease. What are you gonna do about it if I don't back down?"

Haku shrugged sheepishly.

"EXACTLY!" Kamichi cackled. With that, he charged at Haku at top speed. Kamichi tackled him, trying to throw off his focus so he would lose control of his chakra and fall to his death. Haku kicked Kamichi off of him, but Kamichi reappeared behind him and hurled Haku torwards the castle.

Haku cried out as he his body the brick castle wall. Kamichi came over and pinned him there, pushing on Haku's arms as hard as possible. Kamichi stared evilly straight into Haku's. "Hey, Haku. After I kill you and then help take over the world with the Midnight Demon, can I marry Omari?" He laughed, trying to make Haku angry so he would fight. "That is, if Hikaru doesn't get to her first!!"

"What?! Shut up!!" Haku yelled, raising his feet and kicking Kamichi as hard as possible, right in the stomach.

Kamichi fell back, but quickly recovered. It didn't even hurt considering the armor sheet covering most of his body. He smirked as Haku pushed off of the tower and charged at him in anger. As Haku was about to hit him, Kamichi flew upwards in a millisecond, then punched him in the head, hard.

"Owch!" Haku yelled, rubbing his head. The blow had knocked off his skullcap and Hidden Mist headband, making them fall hundreds of feet to the ground. "So, this is how it has to be, huh?" He remembered him saying these exact words during one of his spars with Kamichi. He remembered how the kid never wanted to back down, no matter how painful the situation got.

"Yes." Kamichi put his hands together in a sign and yelled, "Water Gun Jutsu!" Water quickly started to fill Kamichi's cheeks. Haku knew that he was holding it in to build up pressure to have a stronger effect on Haku. A huge water gun blasted from Kamichi's mouth.

It was even more powerful than a fire hydrant, which suprised Haku. Then he had to remind himself with disgust that Kamichi had borrowed strength from the enemy.

There was nothing else to do besides copy the jutsu. "Water Gun Justu!" Haku concentrated, trying his best to match it with Kamichi's jutsu. The two water guns clashed, ending up being perfect matches.

Kamichi stopped his water gun right after Haku topped his, agitated. This was annoying. He couldn't even make a Dark Spirit Shield because it was just barely evening, and he wasn't in a Dark Spirit Environment. Since it was evening, there wasn't enough sunlight to create a Light Kunai, either. And since he was flying, it was hopeless to even try his Boulder Explosion Justu. Kamichi was now stuck. He glanced at Haku, who was still catching his breath from his Water Gun Justu. He had worked hard to evenly match Kamichi's.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

The Midnight Demon and the Sunrise Demon had begun their battle as well. They kept their fair distance from the two boys fighting about twenty feet away.

"Supernova Laserbeam!" The Sunrise Demon released a powerful, bright-purple colored beam from her mouth without even using a single hand sign.

"Underground Tornado Of-" The Midnight Demon started to use a jutsu that he had lended to Hikaru before he was spit out. He stopped all of a sudden, realizing that they were floating around in the sky. He could have used the jutsu to swallow up the Supernova Laserbeam, but that wasn't happening. Obviously, the justu was impossible to carry out with here.

The Sunrise Demon cackled as the laserbeam struck her enemy, sending him flying a few feet. "You are no smarter than Hikaru as well as being weak. Start using your head!"

The Midnight Demon would have shot back a nasty retort while his sister jeered at him, but he suddenly noticed Kamichi several yards away, who was still dodging and giving blows to Haku. Kamichi, however, had a confused and thoughtful look on his face. There was no doubt that he didn't know what jutsu to use next. The Midnight Demon had been watching his comrade out of the corner of his eye the entire time.

Of course Kamichi needed help. It was evening. He couldn't make a Dark or Light Spirit Sheild or kunai, which was basically all he was good for. The Midnight Demon sighed as he quickly took out a small jug containing a special liquid, and hurled in in Kamichi's direction. "Hey, Kamichi! Catch this!"

It was a bad throw. It shot off to the side of both of them and started to fall.

The Sunrise Demon and the Midnight Demon just watched as Haku and Kamichi both dove for the jug.

_**...A Few Moments Later...**_

"HEY!! THAT'S MINE!" Kamichi screeched as Haku snatched the jug from the air and zoomed back up torwards the castle where they were fighing before.

Kamichi flew after him. He saw Haku go near the castle wall, holding the jug in one hand. It was clear that Haku was going to smash the jug filled with sticky black liquid across the tower's wall.

"Heeeeeyyy!!" Kamichi screeched, taking hold of his jug with both hands and tugging on it. "Give that to me!"

"No, Kamichi. I'm not letting you cheat anymore. This just proves how weak and cowardly you really are! Besides, this looks like tar or something. You were really going to drink this?!" Haku looked at the jug in wonder as he still held on.

"Give...it...to...MEEE!" Kamichi screamed at the top of his lungs right into Haku's ear.

Haku cried out in shock and pain, letting go of the jug and putting his hands to his ears. That definatley was not Kamichi's normal whine. That scream was at least 300 decibels, and Haku had taken in every single one of them. His eardrums were pounding. He almost lost focus of his chakra and fell.

This made Haku feel almost jealous. The Sunrise Demon had given him armor, but the Midnight Demon had given Kamichi armor and an increase in strength in every way possible. Even in screams.

Haku uttered out a small cry as he watched Kamichi unscrew the cork on the jug and poured the sticky, thick black liquid down his throat. Ater the liquid was all gone, Kamichi carelessly tossed the glass jug to the ground.

Haku backed up a little, watching the result of Kamichi's concentration of the potion from afar. Seconds after Kamichi had thrown the jug away, a Dark Spirit Sheild quickly covered his entire body. "Sweet!" Kamichi yelled happily. He looked back at Haku, who was staring at him in horror. He grinned cruelly from behind his new purple-and-black body shield. "Okay, Haku. This fight has officially begun. The winner gets to live _and _marry Omari."

"Fine." Haku grumbled stonily. This was the most angry he had ever been at Kamichi.

"Okay. Come and get me, you girly loser!" Kamichi summoned loudly in an obnoxious tone.

Sonething suddenly snapped inside of Haku from that one nasty remark. Haku suddenly flashed back to when Kamichi was that bratty, overconfident jerk that everybody hated. Haku screamed out in fury as he released all of his true speed, bolting torwards Kamichi in mid-air.

The impact was so violent that Haku and Kamichi were sent flying all the way back torwards the balcony...

Kamichi and Haku crashed right through the tough metal gate that kept anyone who peered over the edge from falling over. After crashing through the gate, both of them slammed into the big glass door, shattering it, but not going through it.

Kamichi and Haku scrambled away from the door as the peices of glass clattered to the floor, making it a very dangerous place to be. But that didn't stop the fight. Haku and Kamichi threw themselves at each other, and both hit the floor. The two boys fought, grabbing and clawing at each other.

The worst and most impossible of all battles had finally begun.

_**Turn To The Next Chapter, Mortals!!!**_

_**Readers. Whatever you do, don't think of Kamichi and Haku as traitors. They were basically forced into the fight if you read the two impossible deals above. The Midnight and Sunrise Demons were basically saying, "Fight for me, or you die!". Surely you can understand.**_

_**The horrible and tear-inducing fight will get even worse as we close the Aftermath portion of the series after Chapter 22: For The Good Of The Team...**_

_**F.Y.I...**_

_**Sections of First Impressions: Haku's Training Days...**_

_**1. The Beginning- Chap. 1-10**_

_**2. The Aftermath- Chap. 11-22**_

_**3. The Lonely Remedy- Chap. 23-28**_

_**4. The End- Chap. 29-30**_

_**5. EXTRAS- 1-?? (Events not in order; take place during various times in The Beginning)**_

_**There you go. The entire plan for the chapters of the series. Please allow about 3 to 4 days for each chapter release, although some of the longer chapters can take an extra day or so. I know this one took almost a week. But, since it's now summer, I'll be hard at work. I may have camp to go to during this summer, which takes up about 4 valuable hours of my day, but I think this will work out okay if I can speed up my typing a bit.**_

_**And yes, I go to summer camp. I'm not old!!!!**_


	22. Aftermath: 13: For The Good Of The Team

_**Aftermath: 13: Haku VS. Kamichi: For The Good Of The Team...**_

_**It's the last Aftermath chapter...EVER!! So this might take a while to read. After you read this partcular chapter, PLEASE leave a review to tell me how I did on the overall Aftermath part of this series. It's not like you really have to, but it would be doing a favor for me:) Even if you're not a reader who reviews this story on a regular basis, I would still prefer it if you reveiwed it right after you read this chapter!!**_

_**Heh, I really don't care if you flame me or not. JUST REVIEW IT!! I'm totally desperate for them!! Say whatever you want in your reviews, but just make sure that your review isn't something really stupid like, "dhjshifhbidfjisfas'' just because you can. Got that?**_

_**(sniffles) You know, I almost cried while reading over and editing this...(cough) So sad...yeah, it's a very emotional chapter. Brace yourself if you're an emotional anime fangirl or boy. Get some tissues ready or something.**_

_**HAPPY READING TO ALL!!! ;)**_

"Owch! You little brat!" Haku screamed as Kamichi jumped on Haku's shoulders and started to yank the two locks of hair in front of his face in opposite directions.

Haku pushed Kamichi off of him and scrambled away. He took out three long senbon and tried to gut Kamichi. Kamichi dodged the attack and electrocuted Haku with one Dark Spirit sheilded hand. Haku screamed as the volts violently rushed through his entire body. It felt like the lightning was burning up every chakra point in his body.

Haku smacked Kamichi's hand away and pushed him off of the balcony. Kamichi immediatley started to fly upwards two seconds after he started falling. Haku knew this was going to happen, but he just needed time to catch his breath and focus on preparing his chakra to manipulate the water in his body and make him float.

Haku stood and took a deep breath as Kamichi grinned at him from a few feet away. "You're hopeless here, Haku. I know you can manipulate wind and water to make ice and all, but there's no wind or water. You can't use your Crystal Ice Mirrors, you can't use your Thousand Needles of Death, and you definatley can't use Shattering Ice Field while flying around in the air. The only thing that you have is your taijutsu."

As soon as Haku was about to make a comeback, something appeared in his hand. Haku smiled. "Ha! looks like I do have something besides my taijutsu!" He said to Kamichi, holding his glass jug up in the air. He assumed that the Sunrise Demon had handed it to him to help him out a bit.

"No way!!" Kamichi screamed, pointing at the sticky golden liquid inside of Haku's container. "Give me that jug!" He started for Haku.

"Too late!" Haku pulled the cork from the jug and drank down the stuff inside. It sort of tasted like honey. In about two seconds, a Light Spirit Sheild formed over Haku's entire body. Haku had never obtained a Spirit Sheild in his life, so it felt weird at first. The Light Spirit Sheild gave Haku an odd light and pure feeling deep into his heart.

"Yaaaahh!!" Kamichi screamed in aggravation, charging at the now golden Haku with a chakra-powered fist.

Haku dodged in a flash, faster than he had ever felt himself dodge before. He found himself not having to focus on his Hyoton anymore. He could fly without it now that he had the Light Spirit Sheild. He quickly summoned a fist full of lighter chakra and charged at Kamichi.

Kamichi dodged up above him and watched as Haku's fist crashed into the outside of Skyvoid Tower, splitting the wall for about twenty feet. Haku didn't feel much pain, but he knew he was injured. He could tell by looking at his bloodied knuckles.

While Haku was trying to mend his pulsating wound, Kamichi snuck up behind Haku and tackled him as hard as possible, slamming his enitre body into the wall. Haku cried out in shock and pain as he started to fall. Kamichi quickly caught him, but then spun him around around ten times, gaining speed with every spin. Kamichi finally released him, sending him hurtling into the balcony floor below.

Haku opened his eyes and suddenly saw spinning swirls of blood filling up in his eyes like tears, even though he wasn't crying. That was how fast Kamichi had been spinning him. Haku was so dizzy that he couldn't move. Haku instantly recognized the move. He had used it himself on Kamichi during a particular sparring match a few years back.

"I've always wanted to do that..." Kamichi smirked to himself, zooming down to torment his sensei even more. When he got there, he turned Haku onto his back, and ripped the Light Spirit Shield from his body in one swift move, then tossed it over the edge of the balcony. He pinned Haku so he couldn't move. "You may have had the Light Spirit Shield, but you didn't have the required skills to use it's powers."

"Just like how you have to be an stupid, concieted little spoiled brat to control the Dark Spirit Sheild?" Haku groaned.

Kamichi electrocuted Haku again, causing Haku to scream. Kamichi just kept it up untill Haku could almost smell his ghostly skin and hair burning. Kamichi smirked down at Haku after torturing him for ten seconds straight.

"Had enough?" Kamichi smiled sweetly at him. "'Cause if you're finished playing around, I can just push you off of the balcony and we'll be done with this. And if you happen to survive the fall, then you can just hide somewhere underground for the rest of your life, praying the Midnight Demon nor I never find you."

"No, I haven't had nearly enough yet." Haku snarled. "And I wont untill you just calm down and return to your normal self!"

Haku kicked Kamichi off of him and stood despite his spinning head. "Kamichi, I don't get it! Why are you like this? You've turned into an absolute traitor in the past fifteen minutes!"

Kamichi glared at him. "Maybe because this is the only way to go."

"What?" Haku didn't understand.

"Being a traitor is the only way that I can go on without getting beat up every two minutes!" Kamichi screamed. "I always get hurt or something when I have all of you weighing me down like this! I'm tired of it!"

"So...you've suddenly turned against all of us because you think our love makes you weaker?" Haku whispered in shock.

"I don't think it does. I _know _it does." Kamichi insisted angrily. "If I had never met you guys in the first place and followed in your stupid footsteps, none of this stuff would have happened to me! I'm not cut out to be anyone's friend. I was born and raised alone. Now that I've spent this much time with you, Zabuza and the Kingpin Kunais, look how disgruntled and messed up I turned out!"

"Kamichi..." Tears formed in Haku's eyes. He couldn't even say that he was born and raised alone, because he had people who cared about him before his Kekkei Genkai had found out. He had actually felt love before, making him desperate when he lived on the streets. Haku realized that Kamichi probably could have lasted longer out on the streets than he. Kamichi had a point.

"I'm sorry, Haku-sensei...you taught me well, but didn't succeed in making me a good person. None of you did." Kamichi said. "And being a good person has nothing to do with being a rogue ninja. It's just that lonely people like me, who've been through this much, should just stay alone."

Haku knew that this wasn't the Midnight Demon's powers at work anymore. This was real. He didn't even know what to say anymore.

_**...Back In Hikaru's Room...**_

"She's...she's waking up!" Zamu whispered loudly to the people who were gathered around Omari, who was still helplessly laying on the ground with Slicer's tattered shirt wrapped around her head. It served as a temporary bandage for her, since the bleeding failed to stop on it's own. Luckily, the injury wasn't too serious, but it was pretty bad.

"Uuuhhh..." Omari moaned, eyes still shut. Her eyelids tightened as she raised her hand and placed it on her own temple.

"Omari?" Slicer said gently. "Say something."

"That...little...brat..." Omari groaned. "I can't believe...Kamichi would do something like that..."

Hikaru sneered from the other side of the cage. "Well, I don't blame Kamichi for what he did. Maybe he meant to knock some sense into you!"

Slicer whipped around angrily and started for Hikaru. "Well, I'm about to knock some sense into you!!"

Hikaru flinched.

Slicer went over to him and raised his fist. "She could have been killed, Hikaru! She still could die if her wound is too serious! You think it's funny?!"

Hikaru wasn't concerned with Omari's condition right now. "Don't you DARE try and hit me, goon!"

Slicer socked Hikaru in the stomach, hard. "Why? What are you gonna do about it, kid?!"

"Try it again, and you'll see." Hikaru growled back, clutching his hurt stomach with one hand. "And who cares about your stupid leader?"

"Omari's your leader, too, you know!!" Slicer shot back.

"Knock it off, you guys!" Zabuza snapped at both of them, turning around halfway.

"Omari?! MY leader?? Give me a break! Nobody was ever in charge of me besides my sister." Hikaru leered.

"What's this, then?" Slicer snatched the gray bandanna from Hikaru's head and waved it in front of him. "Look. It has our symbol on it, and your name on the inside of it. You're still a Kingpin Kunai, whether you're alive or not!"

"Hey!" Hikaru yelled. "Give that back!"

"No." Slicer growled, holding it up where Hikaru couldn't get it.

"Just give it back, Taizo!"

"No!"

"GIVE IT!"

_"No!" _

"Aaaaarrgghh! That's it! I'm gonna kill you!" Hikaru tackled Slicer to the ground, but Slicer got out from underneath him and started clobbering him.

Omari groaned, her eyes fluttering open. From the angle she was laying in, she obviously couldn't see what was going on, but she could still hear the action going on. "Ugh...you guys...what's going on?"

Zamu ignored her question, his attention completley turned torwards stopping the fight. He didn't want to leave Omari on the other side of the cage, so he didn't move. His arms were flailing. "Slicer, stop it! He's just a kid! A stupid kid! He didn't know what he was doing!"

Obviously, Slicer was the one who was winning. The fight went from something that looked like conflict between two ninja to a guy trying to beat a little kid to death.

"I don't care! I'll kill this brat! I've had enough of him!" Slicer screamed, hitting Hikaru in the face over and over again. Back when Hikaru was a living team member and Slicer was a teenager, fist fights like these had always broken out. Hikaru was already crying and begging for him to stop, but this time, Slicer would have none of it. It especially hurt Hikaru this time, now that Slicer was a young adult.

_"Cut it out, Slicer! You'll seriously hurt him!" _Zamu screamed at his best friend.

"You're so lucky I don't have any chakra or my sword!" Slicer screamed, yanking Hikaru forward and kicking him in the face. Now it was clear that Slicer had lost his mind as well as Hikaru.

"Waaahh-haahh!! Stop it! Stop it! Leave me alone! Please! That hurts!" Hikaru was begging as Slicer stood, roughly threw him against a wall, and started punching him.

"NO!" Slicer screeched with fury. "You're an ignorant, rude, stupid, WEAK little crybaby punk and I HATE you!" He screamed grabbing Hikaru's neck. He then tried to slam it into the wall as hard as he could, but Hikaru somehow had the energy to kick him in the stomach so he had time to get away.

Hikaru started for a different side of the cage, away from Slicer, but away from Omari and Zamu, too. "No! Leave me ALONE!"

Slicer quickly went after him. "If you start a fight, you gotta end it, coward!" He grabbed Hikaru once again, threw him on the floor and started kicking him.

Hikaru screamed in agony.

"What in the world is going on?!" Omari's head was now pounding from the sound effects of the beatdown. She weakly sat up without Zamu's help, and got one look at what was happening. "Hey! HEY! Slicer, what are you doing?!"

"Killing him!" Slicer growled back.

"What?! Why?! Stop it!" Omari screamed, despite her pounding head.

"He's so stupid and annoying! He's the reason for ALL of this! Now Haku and Kamichi are outside killing each other, the Sunrise and Midnight Demons are released, and we're stuck in here!" Slicer bellowed, slamming Hikaru in the side of the head with a hard fist.

"OUCH!! Stop it!" Hikaru yelped in desperation. He was being hit so hard that he couldn't even think straight. He wished he could just be knocked out. "Nooo!! Sisssssyyy!! Help me!!"

"What'd you just call me?!" Slicer roared, hitting him again and again.

Omari didn't bother to remind Slicer that Hikaru was not calling him names. 'Sissy' probably referred to Tarina, whom he was pleading help from, even though she could have never heard him.

Of course. Tarina was probably the only one who ever loved or cared for him. Plus, whenever Slicer and Hikaru used to fight years back, Tarina was always the one who broke it up. Even though Hikaru had never called Tarina 'Sissy' in the other Kingpin Kunais' presence, Omari was pretty certain that Hikaru was referring to his sister.

Knowing that this could soon end up in Hikaru's demise, Zabuza finally rushed over to the fighting area, and grabbed Hikaru just before Slicer was about to punch him again. Zabuza quickly dragged the shaken and beaten boy to the side where he, Omari, and Zamu had been sitting.

Being separated from his prey, Slicer glanced at his hands, sticky with blood. Finally realizing what he had just done, he walked over to where everyone else was sitting to apologize.

Before Slicer could get halfway over there, Hikaru sat up from the ground, breathing heavily, pointing at Slicer with a shaky finger. "No. N-no more. Please don't hurt me. I-...I'm sorry!" Hikaru pleaded softly, holding his own tattered shirt to his heavily bleeding nose. It pained Slicer to see that he had made both nostrils bleed.

Slicer knelt down next to the nervous, shaking Hikaru. "Nah..." He whispered softly, looking down. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm sorry for taking all of my anger out on you. I shouldn't have taken it out on another teammate like that. All that's happened to us...it's not really all your fault." He said, suddenly having a tiny soft spot for the kid.

"But...but..." Hikaru sobbed. "It is. It is all my fault. You're just saying this to make me feel better. It's all my fault, and now we're all going to suffer for my mistakes."

_**...Meanwhile...**_

_"Sisssssyyy!! Help me!!"_

_...Was Hikaru just calling me a few seconds ago? I could have sworn I had heard his voice screaming from his room. What's going on in there? _Tarina thought from inside of the Sunrise Demon.

Tarina didn't mind helping out the Sunrise Demon, because she wasn't really hurting anybody by doing so, besides the Midnight Demon, who didn't even host Hikaru's body anymore.

Hosting the Sunrise Demon's body was weird. Especially for a ghost like her. She found that she was engolfed in some sort of reddish jelly stuff when she had first opened her eyes. Tarina figured she was stuck in the demon's heart. It was pumping things in and out of it, with the new blood being pumped in washing over her body, giving her a warm feeling. It was weird how she wasn't breathing nor drowning. She could hear the sounds of battle and somehow sense everything that was going on around her. She could feel her ghostly bones rattle every time the Sunrise Demon was struck with another blow from the Midnight Demon. Her body was tingling all the while.

Tarina was hungry as well as desperate to get out of here and break up the fight between Haku and Kamichi. She also sensed what was going on in Hikaru's room, between the fight with Slicer and Hikaru and the blow Kamichi had delivered to Omari. She sensed every move each boy was making, and somehow heard everything Kamichi was saying to Haku. It was so sad. Tarina used to feel the exact same way, because she was raised alone. She had finally found the newborn Hikaru at age ten, just abandoned on the street somewhere. They were both abandoned because the demons inside of them made them different.

The scary thing was, when Tarina had found Hikaru, she had just automatically formed a bond and rivalry with him. She...just knew. She knew that Hikaru was her brother, that she loved and hated at the same time. It wasn't because of the way they sort of looked alike, despite Hikaru's eye color being a darker shade of gray. It wasn't the matter of Tarina discovering what woman had given birth to each one, or whether they had the same mother. Tarina had just sensed that baby Hikaru had come from the same cursed woman. She sensed that she had to take care of him. She had to love him, hate him, and eventually kill him. It was all a weird master plan created by the one who had given birth to the Sunrise Demon and the Midnight Demon themselves.

Kamichi wasn't like that, though. There was no magic or demons or special Kage involved. He was just all alone, due to the cruelty of the Hidden Rock Village. Due to some random purpose. The Hidden Rock Villagers did not know it was Kamichi. They didn't care. They just did what their ritual told them to do.

That's what made it so sad. At the age of eleven, he had finally discovered that all of this love somehow wasn't doing him any good. That the love they were giving him resulted in the horrible pain he had just experienced the past few days. He thought that love and himself didn't even out together. Kamichi just turned out to be the type of kid who suddenly felt he needed to be an alone, cruel ex-Mist ninja who wanted to destroy everyone and everything around him.

Tarina couldn't let it happen. She had to get out of here, and fast.

Suddenly, another cold wave rushed over her body, draining another part of her energy. The feeling was so sudden, and so scary, that she nearly had a heart attack. A few seconds later, she realized that the Sunrise Demon had just used up another Supernova Laserbeam on the Midnight Demon. It had missed anyway. The demon was really stretching Tarina's limit. Tarina thought she would explode if any more of her remaining energy was sucked out of her.

There just _had_ to be a way out of this.

_**...Meanwhile, Outside Of The Castle...**_

"Why don't you just give up and leave while you can, Haku?! Part of me really doesn't want to kill you." Kamichi said, but speaking in a harsh tone all the while. Haku could tell that his inner-confidence and desire to get rid of him was weakening. As he spoke, the Dark Spirit Sheild disappeared from his body. Haku figured it wouldn't last long anyway, considering that it came from a jug.

"What makes you think you can?" Haku growled. "Come on. I'm ready for you."

"No!" Kamichi shouted. "I know what you're doing! You're just stalling untill either the Midnight or Sunrise Demons win the battle, so then you can take me away from here, and neither one of us has to be defeated!" He pointed at Haku angrily.

Haku bit his tongue to keep himself from cursing in frustration. His only plan was foiled.

_"That's IT! I'm fed up with you! You tried to trick me!! Now you're really gonna get it!"_ Kamichi's eyes flashed red with anger, reaching inside of his suit and pulling out a kunai.

"Kamichi, please!" Haku whispered desperatley. Now he knew he would be forced to fight to the death. He shakily took out three of his longest senbon, holding them in a weak ready position. Kamichi was strong, but definatley not good with weapons unless they were special, like an Ultra Kunai. It was his main weak point. His taijutsu generally stunk without the Dark Spirit Sheild. He didn't have a chance with that kunai. Haku was afraid that Kamichi would actually cut _himself _by sheer accident.

Kamichi wasn't even good at _anything_ when he was this angry. Haku had never seen him so furious at him.

"Aaaaaaaaahh!" Kamichi screamed as he zoomed torwards Haku with the kunai.

Haku clumsily blocked the first attack with one senbon in a panic. Kamichi suddenly lashed out at him again, ending up nicking his pinky finger. Kamichi winced, but didn't let it get to him. Kamichi tried a foot sweep and slash combo, but Haku jumped up in the air, and slashed the three senbon across Kamichi's neck. He made sure not to do it too hard.

Kamichi slightly yelped in shock and fright, but quickly recovered and glared up at his older opponent again. "You're going to DIE, Haku!" He screamed in fury, slashing violently at Haku's face, since there was no other place to slash

Haku grabbed Kamichi's hand in an attempt to stop him, but Kamichi just leaned over and bit Haku's hand as hard as he could. Haku gasped and yanked his hand away, causing Kamichi to take advantage of the painful distraction. Kamichi reached over, and in one swift move, he tore the armor from Haku's body.

"Hey!" Haku involuntarily screamed as being deprived from his only protection made him stumble a bit.

"Yah!" Kamichi yelled, aiming his kunai at Haku's heart.

Haku had no other choice. He grabbed Kamichi's wrist and snapped it. 

Kamichi screamed in agony, tears flowing from his face the second Haku had broke it. Haku grimaced. "I'm...I'm sorry, Kamichi. I had to stop you...and I couldn't bear to hurt you any more than that. I'm sorry..." He moaned in a self-loathing voice. He started to cry himself.

"You...you..." Kamichi began.

Haku whispered, "I'm sorry, Kamichi. I just can't fight you anymore."

"You...you...COWARD! You think you can just get out of this the easy way?!" Kamichi growled. "You're DEAD, Haku!" He screamed, suddenly switching hands with his kunai and stabbing Haku as hard as possible in the stomach.

Blood spurted everywhere, from the balcony floor to Kamichi's face. Kamichi still held the kunai in there, letting Haku feel the pain. "There! Now you feel how I feel! Just a big empty hole in your _heart!_" Kamichi yelled in pure hatred, stabbing Haku again in the chest, with more blood spurting onto his face. And the hole was all thanks to you guys. How I got discouraged and beat down! It's all you fault, and now your death will be my fault! It's only fair, right?"

"Aaa-ahhhh!!" Haku sputtered, starting to choke on his own blood. "Kamichi...why? We...all...loved you!"

"I don't care!" Kamichi said, still holding onto the kunai, which was still inside of Haku. "I don't love you back!" He grasped the kunai even tighter. Kamichi holding the kunai was the only thing that kept the seriously wounded Haku suspended in air. The sharp kunai was tearing Haku's flesh even more. "I HATE YOU!"

Kamichi shivered as soon as he said it. His own horrible voice rang in his head over and over again. It rang throughout the enitre environment. The kunai he was holding suddenly did a strange shiver as well as he did. Kamichi watched with shock as the very last Ultra Kunai was created from Haku's own blood.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

Tarina shivered. Something felt wrong. Very wrong. It was just a sudden cold feeling she had gotten all of a sudden. She knew that Kamichi had just attacked Haku, but she had no idea what the attack was and how severe the two blows had been.

She concentrated very hard to figure out what had just happened. All she could figure out was that Kamichi had just hit Haku in two places, and had obtained a new item by doing so.

New item?

She concentrated even harder. Yes. It was clearing up for her now. It had come from the item that Kamichi had before. Tarina could make out the previous figure in Kamichi's hand, which was a regular kunai, but when he had struck Haku with it...

_Oh, no. Not the Blood Kunai..._Tarina's eyes grew huge. _The Midnight Demon and my demon would kill millions for something as rare and precious as that. The 6th Ultra Kunai. It can only come from a heart of true kindness and evil at the same time. When that heart suddenly comes to hate someone and try to kill him, then the Blood Kunai results._

If only the Midnight Demon had been satisfied with an Electric Kunai. The Electric Kunai seemed special, but in reality, it wasn't. It wasn't considered an Ultra Kunai because it was so limited in power. Now, since the sixth and final kunai was made, everyone was going to go ballistic for it.

Tarina suddenly sensed Kamichi yanking the Blood Kunai from Haku, and Haku beginning to fall the hundreds of feet to the ground. _No! If Haku even survived the kunai attack, he will die if he he hits the ground! He'll be gone forever! This can't happen!_

_IT CAN'T! I'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!_

_**...Back Outside Of The Tower...**_

"Oomph!" The Sunrise Demon grumbled, rubbing upper chest. It felt like a thump. Not the heartbeat kind of thump, but a real thump. Like...like something was going to come out.

"What's the matter, big sister?" The Midnight Demon asked, grinning. He knew something was wrong. He put down the Sword of Darkness that he had recently created from his bare hands.

"Nothing!" The Sunrise Demon growled, trying to ignore the thumping.

_"Let me out of here! Please! I've gotta go save-"_

"Shut up!" The Sunrise Demon yelled at Tarina, who she suddenly realized was trying to get out all along. It slightly suprised the demon, because this was the first word Tarina had managed to speak. It was a wonder how she got her mouth moving. She was supossed to be in a coma. "I need you, mortal! I helped you throughout your pointless life, now you help me!"

_"No! You don't understand. Haku -I mean, your comrade- needs help! He's going to die!" _Tarina boomed desperatley.

"What?!" The Sunrise Demon looked over at the area where Kamichi and Haku had been battling. She saw a small figure starting to plummet to the ground, while a smaller one smoothly raced after it after it with an object in one of it's hands.

"Hey!" The Midnight Demon screamed. "That's my mortal chasing after yours! He's got a Blood Kunai!" He took off for Kamichi, screaming for him to 'hand the weapon over'. Of course, he had no intention at all for saving Haku as he flew away.

"No! I have to get that kunai first! He'll be unstoppable if he grabs hold of it!" The Sunrise Demon screamed at the top of her lungs, starting to fly after the Midnight Demon.

_"Aaaaaaaaa!!! Noooo!!! I have...to...GET...OUT..OF...HERE!!" _Tarina suddenly started to absorb the Sunrise Demon's ability and fresh blood, increasingly gaining power.

The Sunrise Demon stopped in her tracks, starting to shrivel. She didn't look as muscular as before. "Mortal! What are you doing to me?! Stop it! It hurts! You're sucking my abilities from my own blood! How DARE you!! Noooooooo!"

Tarina sensed Haku was heading straight for the ground.

Eight seconds...

Kamichi landed on the ground, just standing there, making no move to try and catch Haku...

The Sunrise Demon was screaming as Tarina finally had all of her special abilities returned to her...

Five seconds...

Tarina burst through the huge, thick body of the screaming Sunrise Demon, who suddenly faded away from sight after all of her blood rained down on the world below. She zipped straight through the air at the speed of sound, not having any idea where she had gotten the ability from. She didn't care, she just had to save her friend...

There was not enough time. Tarina was too weak to go any faster than the speed rate she was going at. It seemed so far away because she fet so dizzy. The Midnight Demon was right smack in the way, going for Kamichi. She quickly powered up a fist, and struck the unexpecting demon in the back as hard as she possibly could, making the demon fall to the ground next to where Kamichi was standing...

One second...

Haku flopped right on top of the Midnight Demon's back, not moving at all.

Tarina breathed a heavy sigh of relief before tumbling to the ground herself. She lay head down in the dirt, as exausted as ever. She turned over onto her back and feebly sat up from the ground. She was covered in the Sunrise Demon's veins and blood. It was sticky and wet, making her gag. She didn't even know where on Earth they were. It looked like a small forest.

Kamichi still had the Blood Kunai clutched in his hands. The Midnight Demon moaned pitifully as he lay face down, head buried into the dirt. She blow he had just taken from Tarina had done some serious damage, and he found that he couldn't move at all.

"Mmm..." The blood-engolfed Haku started to moan. He had been totally numb because he was so scared a few minutes ago, but now the real pain was kicking in.

Without another word, Kamichi began to raise the kunai over Haku's head. "I'm not letting you live..."

In a flash, Tarina snatched Haku out of the way, and Kamichi had ended up deeply stabbing the already weakened Midnight Demon. Purple goo and blood spurted from where the vibrating kunai had struck him, and within seconds, the Midnight Demon was dead. His body faded away and a cloud of dust exploded where he had been. The five Ultra Kunais lay in a heap where he had been laying.

Haku coughed up a glob of blood as Tarina gently placed him on the ground. Kamichi was just staring at where the Midnight Demon had once stood. "He's gone..."

Kamichi recieved a hard punch in the back of the head. "So, what?! The Sunrise Demon is dead, too, and good riddance!" Tarina yelled, but feeling lighter and changed as soon as the Sunrise Demon had left her body. "That doesn't matter right now! What the heck happened to _you_, Kamichi?!"

Kamichi stumbled, but finally turned to face her. "What do you mean, what happened?" He glared.

"You betrayed us all by fighting for the enemy! You basically fought against ALL of us, Kamichi! And you attempted murder on your best friend and teacher. Twice! That's why I want to know what happened to you!" Tarina screamed, although she knew the answer already.

At first, Kamichi was shocked that Tarina knew what was going on all of that time. Then, he just resumed to his glare from before. "Nothing happened to me. No, I take that back. _You _all happened to me."

"Kamichi, I felt the exact same way as you at some point in my life. But I worked it out! You have to let us help you with your problems! I mean, I could see why you were acting so cocky and bratty before..." Tarina said. "But this time, you crossed the line. You went against us all, hoping it could erase what happened with you and Hikaru, and give you power over all of us. That's just sick!"

Kamichi gulped. "I..."

"That's right!" Tarina said angrily. "Do you now realize what you've done?! And, I bet you haven't been too nice to the others inside of the cage, either!"

Kamichi thought of Omari. How did Tarina know? He suddenly felt all tingling and upset inside. It never payed to be a total traitor and jerk. Especially when you knew that you weren't going to get anything out of it in the first place. "What...what have I done?" He whispered, looking down at Haku, who was breathing hard.

"I don't even know, Kamichi..." Tarina said to him, kneeling down next to Haku and lightly putting a hand on his chest. "You're just lucky I got every ounce of my chakra back." She said, slowly starting to heal her wounded friend.

"I'm...I'm...I'm SORRY!" Kamichi screamed, falling to the bloody, dirty ground and sobbing his eyes out. "I'm sorry!" He threw the Blood Kunai down and curled up in a ball as he cried.

"You should be. But that doesn't make you forgiven." Tarina shook her head and reached over with her other hand to pick up the Blood Kunai and stuff it inside of her goop-filled pocket.

Kamichi continued to sob. He looked down at Haku. "Haku...I'm sorry. You were the best friend I could ever ask for, and...I'm sorry for wrecking our friendship!" He choked.

"I'm...I'm sorry, too, Kamichi..." Haku grunted.

Tarina stayed silent for a while, tending to Haku's wounds with her few healing jutsus. Haku yelped or made a small cry whenever Tarina touched the deep or sensitive parts of his wounds, and Tarina quietly shushed him. She ripped the sleeves from her shirt to make two temporary bandages untill they returned to their own world.

After fifteen minutes of silence, Kamichi still hadn't spoken. He was't even crying anymore. Tarina wondered why. She finally turned around to look at him...

She gasped.

The only reason why Kamichi wasn't making any noise was because he wasn't even there anymore. He had left all of his armor and weapons right where he had been. Tarina didn't even hear him leave or poof away or anything.

Tarina swiped up the five other Ultra Kunais and put them in her pocket so they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. Then, she pulled Haku off of the ground and started to run. "C'mon, Haku! We've GOTTA find him before something happens to him!"

_**...Fifteen Minutes Later...**_

The cage had just disappeared from sight. Leaving no sign that marked that it was ever there before.

"What?! How could this have happened?! It's...it's gone. I think this means that the battle is over..." Hikaru whispered, looking around the room in shock.

"Who won?" Zabuza asked nobody in particular.

"Maybe it was the Sunrise Demon." Omari suggested. "Since the Midnight Demon made it. I mean, if the Sunrise Demon had won, then the Midnight Demon would have died, and the cage would've disappeared, right?"

"Wrong." Hikaru said. "If the Sunrise Demon had won, I think she would've come in here to tell us at least..." He said, standing up and walking out of the cage area and stretching.

"No, wouldn't she go down and crush the Hidden Mist Village first, take over the planet, and _then_ come and get us?" Zamu asked.

"But the Midnight Demon would do the same thing." Slicer pointed out. "World first. Then us."

Omari clenched her shaking fists. "I really hope Haku won over Kamichi at least..."

Suddenly, Tarina came crashing through the hole that used to be the glass balcony door, then fell to the ground. Haku had been trying to limp quickly after her, but tripped over Tarina and toppled onto her.

"Ohmygosh!" Omari yelled, running torwards the both of them. She took one look at the scratched up, goop-covered Tarina, and the bandaged-up Haku, then helped them off of the ground. "What care you guys doing here? What happened?! How'd you guys here?!" She gasped as Haku stumbled over and pulled Omari into a light, feeble hug, then stepped back.

Everyone else gathered around them, except for Hikaru, who seemed intimidated by his older sister. He sat by himself on the bed, watching the scene unfold. He refused to come near her untill he knew for sure what was happening.

"Forget that! Have any of you seen Kamichi?!" Tarina said in a hurry.

"No...he went off to fight for the Midnight Demon. We have no clue what went on out there. We just heard...screaming." Omari said in a confused tone.

"You have to tell us what happened!" Slicer insisted.

"Well, Kamichi had stabbed Haku twice with a special kunai. Okay? And he started to fall back down, and Kamichi wasn't gonna catch him. So, I took back all of my abilities and extra chakra and burst out of the Sunrise Demon's heart, and she died. I zoomed over to catch Haku when the Midnight Demon got in my way. I knocked him down, and he broke Haku's fall. Then, Kamichi treid to finish Haku off, but I grabbed Haku out of the way and Kamichi ended up stabbing and killing the Midnight Demon with the extra-powerful Blood Kunai." Tarina rushed, breathless.

"And...?" Zabuza pressed.

"So I sort of was a bit harsh to Kamichi while tending to Haku's wounds. I turned around a little while later, and he was gone. So then I flew up here using the extra chakra from the Sunrise Demon, carrying Haku with me. I thought that Kamichi could have come here." Tarina said. "To make a long story short, nobody won the battle, Haku's still a bit hurt, and Kamichi's missing. Other than that, the hidden Mist Village is saved."

Everyone just stared in shock for a few moments. Tarina stayed quiet too, to let the things she said sink in.

"So..." Omari finally spoke. "You mean...Kamichi...just disappeared?"

"Well, I can see why." Slicer said quietly. "Can you imagine how he felt when he snapped out of being a crazed and totally evil freakazoid? He smacked you in the back of the head, Omari. He nearly killed Haku. His feelings ran a bit wild. No wonder he snuck away."

"Well, we can't just leave Kamichi out there! We've got to go searching for him!" Haku insisted.

"How are we all going to get down there?" Slicer wondered aloud. "There's no way. The only one with chakra left is Tarina, and certainly can't take more than one person with her down there."

"We...we can just dismantle Skyvoid Tower altogether..." Hikaru said meekly from his bed, shrugging.

"What do you mean?" Zamu asked. Everyone turned to give him a funny look.

Hikaru almost laughed. "You don't think I built this place myself, do you?"

"What do you mean by that?" Zamu asked again, still confused.

"This castle...is somewhat related to a Summoning Justu." Hikaru said, reaching down and pulling out a very large scroll. I've set up many castles before. Like the other towers, this one was only temorary, and it came by scroll. If we just stab the scroll, then we'll just end up right back on the ground again. I...I don't need this castle anymore, anyway..." Hikaru didn't dare meet anyone's gaze while saying this.

"You sure that the floor's not just going to vanish in front of us and we fall through the air and die when we hit the ground?" Omari raised one eyebrow. She wasn't sure if Hikaru was just pulling something, trying to get all of them to agree to suicide.

"I'm...I'm positive." Hikaru said, sniffing and wiping his nose, which he thought was broken. "I've done it many times before. Even though the entire castle is elevated hundreds of feet in the air, you just land on the ground. The castle will be gone." He didn't know why he felt so shy and guilty all of a sudden. Maybe it was because Tarina, who was the only boss of him, was free from his clutches and do whatever she pleased to him. She was the one with the power now. He was nothing.

"...Okay." Haku nodded lightly, looking around at the others and seeing nods of agreement. "We trust you to bring us down from here, Hikaru." He gulped.

Everyone shut their eyes as Hikaru reached under his bed to pull out a kunai. He stabbed through the scroll, and shot it across the room. For a second, everything was black.

"Hellllo-oooo?!" Slicer said out loud, trying to test his voice out to make sure he wasn't alone or dead or anything.

For a few seconds, everyone started moving around and responding/calling out ramdom things to each other to make sure that they were all there.

"Shh...everyone. Don't move! The destruction of the scroll is at work here!" Hikaru hissed at all of them. "Trust me. We're going to be okay. We'll be down in a few seconds."

Suddenly, there was a dropping feeling, as if they were in a really fast elevator. It lurched Omari's stomach downward, almost making her vomit, but she swallowed it down as they continued the ride to the ground.

For the last five feet or so, the current of darkness suddenly let go of them, and they all fell on their rears in the middle of the small area of forest that Tarina, Haku, and Kamichi were in before. They weren't home, but they were back on Earth. Tarina couldn't tell which forest it was. She had never really looked or wondered when she was outside cleaning out Haku's wounds. She at least knew that was in the Land of Water.

"Ouch. I never seem to get used to that part, though..." Hikaru grumbled, standing up weakly and rubbing his backside. He stared up at the night sky and shook his head. _Wow...I can't believe I actually did something nice for these goons..._

Zamu, Slicer, Haku, and Omari all breathed a sigh of pure relief, glad that it wasn't a trick. For once, Hikaru had done something that wasn't evil, or at least an attempt to be evil.

They all stood. Tarina dusted herself off, then glanced at her mute brother. "Hey. You. Hikaru."

Hikaru shivered, looking at Tarina from a distance. It felt awful not to be in control anymore. _He _felt awful. Tarina was in control now.

"Come here."

"Huh?" Hikaru pretended that he didn't hear her. He didn't know what Tarina was going to do to him, anyway. He hoped that saying 'Huh?' would just make Tarina shrug and say 'nevermind', realizing that whatever she was about to say or do to him was unnessecary or unimportant.

"Just come here." Tarina repeated the neutral command.

Hikaru nodded submissively, and walked over to where she was standing, keeping his eyes on the ground. "What do you want?" He grumbled as soon as he reached her.

Hikaru didn't look into her eyes. If he did, he was afraid he would be hit or something because of all of the things he had done wrong to every single one of them present, and Kamichi. He found that he was slightly trembling. After being almost killed by the Sunrise Demon, punched in the face by Omari, and having the stuffing kicked out of him by Slicer, it wouldn't suprise Hikaru if Tarina just killed him at this very moment.

But she didn't.

"Hikaru..." Tarina whimpered softly, pulling Hikaru into a warm hug.

Hikaru felt a bit uncomfortable, being held so close by his sister, but it felt good all the while. She was his only family, after all. He forced himself to put his arms around her as well.

"I love you..." Tarina whispered into her younger brother's ear.

Tears began to fill Hikaru's eyes. This time, they were happy tears. He blinked them back, absolutley refusing to let his emotions show during such an inappropriatley goopy moment like this. He patted her softly. "I love you too, Tarina..." He said back, trying to keep his voice from cracking. Someone loved him. Someone _actually _loved him. Although Tarina loved him all along, this was the time where he needed love. When he realized her love. It was overwhelming.

Tarina seemed overwhelmed, too. "I...I can't believe it. We're free! We're finally free from those demons!" She cried with joy, still hugging him.

Hikaru wrapped his arms around her into a real hug, smiling slightly. "...Yeah. I guess we are. It feels good, doesn't it?" He said, starting to feel uncomfortable again all of a sudden.

"Yes, it does..." Tarina cooed. She suddenly blushed and let go of Hikaru, smiling slightly. Hugging always got Tarina uncomfortable after more than a few seconds, too. She never knew when to let go or what to do after a hug. This time, she turned, then proceeded to hug Omari, Slicer, Zamu, and Haku all together in a group hug.

Hikaru couldn't help smiling as the goody-goodies all gathered into a hug. It was almost...sweet. Well, whatever it was, it gave a warm feeling deep down into his heart. It felt really, really good, like he almost had a liking torwards the group altogether.

Hikaru suddenly felt a little more warm. Too warm. In a panic, he looked down at his hands, wondering what in the world was going on. His heart started to beat a bit slower than his usual fast-pumping pulse (faster was normal for a ghost). His hands...they weren't even glowing anymore.

_Am...am I about to vanish?! For good?! Is this what it's like to...really die? _Hikaru breathed heavily. "G-g-guys?! What's happening to me?!" His voice didn't echo the way it used to anymore. His vision grew lesser. His blood suddenly switched from a ghostly freezing-cold to warm, almost like he was...

Tarina and the others glanced over at him nervously. Nobody, except for Tarina, knew what was going on. She smiled faintly.

"Tarina! Help! I feel so funny...what's happened?! Is my afterlife over?! Is this it?!" Hikaru screamed, slapping his more-solid hands to his head. He felt heavy and weak.

"Just about." Tarina replied.

Hikaru could have sworn he felt this feeling before, but he couldn't quite place where or when he had ever felt it. "It is?! I...I'm not hurt or anything! I...am I bleeding or something?! I'm gonna die!" He screeched in panic and terror.

"Quite the opposite, actually."

Everyone gasped and turned to face Tarina.

"You mean...?" Hikaru gasped. "But, I'm a ghost! I died! I'm DEAD! I can't become a human again! That's insane! It's impossible! It's...how?"

Tarina just gave them a blank stare. "Hikaru...when I stabbed you with the Stone Kunai, that wasn't exactly what you died from." She said, taking out the Stone Kunai and showing it to all of them.

_"What?!" _Everyone screamed in unison, including Hikaru. "But...but..."

"You guys have it all wrong." Tarina said. "The Stone Kunai didn't kill Hikaru at all. It was Hikaru's overwhelmed reaction of betrayal. He felt that I betrayed him the second I 'tried' to get rid of him with the kunai. He died of a broken heart, not the kunai. Now, that you've assured that I truly love you again, your heart has mended, bringing you back to your regular human state."

"But...but...how do you know?!" Hikaru gasped.

"I know...because...I dunno. I just know. The moon tells me things." Tarina shrugged, looking up at the moon and started to get lost into it.

_WEIRDO! _Hikaru couldn't help thinking. It was so bizarre. He was the one who had hosted the Midnight Demon. Shouldn't he have been the one who was able to get information from the moon or whatever? It was all a mystery.

For some reason, he actually felt glad that he was alive again, and not resuming his career of tormenting enemies in the afterlife. Now that he was a human again, he couldn't torment ghosts even if he wanted to. He turned to Tarina, with a hopeful look in his eyes. He didn't even know he could feel hopeful as a human. "Tarina...are you going to come back to life, too?" He asked her. He wanted her to stay with him.

Tarina smiled sadly and shook her head. "No. I can't." She said.

Hikaru didn't bother to ask more. He sighed. That was that. He knew he couldn't push his super-mysterious older sister into further explanation about something like that. Everything...just turned out so...weird. So many unanswered questions, so many...

"Oh, my gosh!" Omari screamed. "We've been waiting around here for nearly ten minutes and forgot all about Kamichi! We've still gotta find him!"

A small hand suddenly touched Omari's shoulder. She shivered. "No, that wont be necessary."

Everyone turned. It was Kamichi, looking as depressed as ever.

"Kamichi!" Omari said, involuntarilty putting her hand up to her makeshift bandage wrapped around her head. She had absolutley no clue what to say now. She took a nervous step back, thinking about what the kid did to she and Haku. "Wh-where have you been? Why did you leave?"

"Me?" Kamichi wiped his nose with the back of his hand and sniffled. "I...I've been in the forest by myself. I had to think."

"About...?" Tarina questioned warily. She was the only one who looked slightly suspicious of him. Haku and Omari just looked uncertain.

"About what I need to do. I just came back here...to say goodbye to all of you." Kamichi said sadly, looking up at all of them.

"What?! Wh-where are you going?!" Haku cried, his current feelings torwards him entirely changed. Leaving? Did Kamichi think he was _that_ bad of a person?

"Yeah, I'm leaving. Didn't ya hear me?" Kamichi said in a gloomy, quiet tone. "It's...it's for the good of the team. I'm going to be on my own now."

"Hold it, hold it!" Tarina yelled. "You just can't leave the Kingpin Kunais like that! You wont survive out there! You're just a-"

"Weak little kid?" Kamichi interrupted, not changing his tone of voice. "Control freak? Jerk? Backstabber? I think I'll manage somehow on my own."

"But..." Haku ran up to him. "We...I thought we were..."

"No! We're not friends anymore, Haku. We...we can't be." Kamichi said. "I...I like you guys, but this just isn't working for me...I feel too stupid to go on with you guys. I nearly killed you, Haku. And Omari. And the awful things I said..."

"But, we can just forget about that!" Haku screamed. "We can forget all of that! You can go back to the Hidden Mist Village with Hikaru, Omari, Zamu, and Slicer and be the Kingpin Kunais again. You don't have to leave!"

"Yeah. I do." Kamichi said.

Omari ran up and clinged to him. She started to cry. "Just because you did some bad things and turned against us doesn't make you a bad guy! You can't leave here all by yourself! No one will take care of you! I doubt even you will take care of yourself!"

"Like I said, I'll manage. I'll find a different squad." Kamichi glared at her now, pushing Omari off of him. "And you're right, I probably wont take care of myself too well. I don't deserve to be taken care of. I took my only friendships and litterally stabbed right through it." He said, glancing at Haku's bandaged wound.

"NO!" Omari screamed. "You can't leave, no matter what! I...I forgive you for striking out at me earlier, okay?!"

"Thank you for forgiving me, but..." Kamichi just looked at her.

"You're NOT LEAVING!" Omari screamed desperatley, tears streaming down her face. "I LOVE you! You're like a child to me! I can't lose you!" She said, taking a step torwards Kamichi.

Omari flinched as she felt Tarina's wrist tightly grip hers. "Just leave him be. Let him go if he truly feels he needs to leave, Omari. A good leader has to lead, but must let her followers make their own choices. It's a matter of respect. You can never make someone else's choice." She said sternly, but had traces of sadness stuck in her voice.

Kamichi walked up to Omari and gave her a sad look. He kissed her gently on the cheek. "Goodbye, Omari."

With Tarina still restraining her, Omari managed to utter, "Goodbye...Kamichi. I love you..." She was sobbing now. It took all the way untill this moment to realize that it would be terribly unbearable to not have that cute, perfect smiling face around her anymore...

"I...I'm sorry it's had to come to this, Kamichi..." Tarina whispered sadly. "Just...remember that we all love you. You'll always be one of us no matter what, and can always come back to us."

Kamichi didn't reply, only wrinkled his eyebrows even more. He sniffed and wiped his nose again. He turned to look at Omari and Tarina. "Goodbye, Tarina. Goodbye..._Mommy_..." He whispered, saying 'Mommy' so quietly that nobody except for Omari could hear him. He then turned to the others. "Goodbye, everyone...

Slicer, Zamu, and Haku quickly ran over and hugged him as tight as possible, crying. They knew that they couldn't persuade Kamichi to stay or allow Tarina to make the choice for him.

"Goodbye, Kamichi...I'll miss you..." Haku whispered. As a ghost, he realized that Kamichi had somehow found out how to shut down a friendhip with a ghost mentally. There was no warm feeling in Kamichi's heart for Haku, Zabuza, or Tarina anymore. That meant no more visits.

"Goodbye, buddy..." Slicer said to him slowly, feeling as sad as ever. This was a true loss. He felt as if Kamichi was dead. The Kamichi that everyone knew and loved was gone. He just disappeared into the cold world beyond any trace of friendship.

"You'll always be with us, Kamichi...just...if you need help, come back to us, and we'll give it to you." Zamu told him, wiping his tears away from his face. But there was no sense in doing that. The tears just kept on coming.

"You were a good kid..." Zabuza whispered, at a loss for words at the moment. "I'm sorry you have to leave like this..."

"You guys...I'd rather you not hug me like that..." Kamichi told them gloomily. "I really don't feel like crying..."

Zamu, Slicer, Zabuza, and Haku all let go of him and stepped back a bit. Nobody said any more to him. This...it was all too sudden, yet so predictable after all Kamichi had gone through. Maybe Kamichi just felt that...he needed to start over somewhere else. Staying would just bring back too many memories.

"Well...goodbye." Kamichi said, and started to turn and walk away.

"WAIT!" Hikaru yelled, chasing after him and touching his shoulder.

"What?" Kamichi gave him an annoyed look. Obviously, since Hikaru was the cause of most of this, Kamichi didn't feel like speaking to him at the moment.

Hikaru slowly pulled Kamichi's purple Kingpin Kunai bandanna from his pocket. He had stolen it during thier fight. "You've forgotten something. Like we said, you'll always be one of us. This...is just something to remember us by...if you want it." He shrugged, trying to sound careless.

Kamichi looked up at Hikaru with tears in his eyes. It brought back terrible memories, especially with the blood all over it, but he just couldn't say no. Maybe he couldn't go without at least some memories. He accepted the bandanna and stuffed it in his own pocket. "Thank you, Hikaru..."

"Yeah, whatever. And...I'm sorry for, y'know, hurting you back there and stuff. I know I get a little wacked sometimes and say and do bad stuff, but I really think you're an okay kid althogether." Hikaru admitted.

"...Thanks." Both Kamichi and Hikaru thought it was gross to hug each other, since they never got along so well, so they just shook hands.

Hikaru stepped back to where the others were, waving.

Kamichi flashed one last smile at them, but it was filled with sadness. He waved at them once more. He then made a quick hand sign and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

He was gone.

At that moment, Tarina let go of Omari. Omari threw herself onto the ground and started screaming and crying and dry-heaving. Tarina and Haku especially wanted to comfort her, but now wasn't the time. There was just nothing to say. Kamichi had left the team for good, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Omari continued to cry and vomit, totally sick to her stomach, with only two thoughts spinning around in her throbbing head.

_My sweet child has left me..._

_I am absolutley nothing without him._

_**...Five Hours Later...**_

It was almost two in the morning.

They had built a small fire in the woods after Zabuza and Slicer had gathered firewood, and just sat there. There was nothing to discuss or talk about anymore. It was pitch black outside, with no street lights or anything. Only the pitiful glow of the tiny fire they had managed to make.

Nobody said a word. Nobody dared say a word about Kamichi, especially Omari. That would prove disasterous, considering how she had been loudly sobbing for three hours straight. She now sat by herself at the end of a log, knees drawn up to her chest, still weeping softly. Everyone else had a good cry, except for Hikaru, but he looked pretty sad as well.

Everyone was going to miss him. There would be none of Kamichi's foolish pranks and sick jokes anymore. No more of his sweet laughter ringing through their heads. No anything. Nothing to remember him by except for the blood still stained on Hikaru's hands.

After a few more minutes of just sitting there, Haku, Tarina and Zabuza finally stood after nodding at each other as a sort of signal.

"What? Where are you going?" Zamu looked up at them curiously.

"We're really sorry, but we have to go back to our world now..." Tarina stated sadly.

"Why can't you stay with us?" Slicer asked.

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe how many rules we've broken..." Haku said, blushing, scratching his head.

"Broken the rules? What are you talking about?" Omari asked.

"Well, obviously, they've broken quite a few..." Hikaru explained to them. "Between escorting humans to another ghost's domain, Haku helping a demon and battling it out with Kamichi, and leaving the Spirit World without permission." He said. "Although I have to admit, I've broken quite a few of those rules myself by permanently escaping the Spirit World, fighting you as humans when I was a ghost, and almost killing Kamichi. But, since I'm back to a regular human life, I don't have to accept the charges."

"Yeah..." Haku sighed. "We'll probably not be able to visit you guys for a long time..."

Omari stood with him. "How long??"

"Maybe a month or two...maybe three." Haku said softly, shrugging. "All I know is that we have to leave now before we get into even more trouble than we are right now, so...goodbye..." He said, kissing Omari on the mouth gently.

"Bye, Haku." Omari said. Then she turned to Tarina and hugged her tightly. "Bye, Tarina...I relly hope to see you all soon..." She turned to Zabuza and hugged him, too.

Zabuza looked a little freaked out, but just patted her back, cleared his throat and waved to everyone who was sitting around the fire.

Zamu, Slicer, Hikaru, and Omari waved back, their expressions as gloomy as could be.

_**...Thirty Minutes Later...**_

The Kingpin Kunais had decided to return to thier own hideout a few minutes after Haku, Zabuza, and Tarina had left. As soon as they got home, licer ad flopped down on his bed and went to sleep. Zamu had stayed on the couch and watched a scary movie. He was too upset to go to bed and think about what had happened the past few days. And Omari immediatley got to washing her bedroom rug, dressed in rolled-up old pants and a T-Shirt so he wouldn't get soap all over herself. She had never cleaned her rug when Kamichi was stabbed by Hikaru in the first place. it was amazing that the blood was actually coming off.

While Omari was scrubbing away, Hikaru nervously entered the room. "Hey, Omari..."

"You sleep in Kamichi's room, in case that's what you came in here for..." Omari grumbled.

"Hmm. Thanks." Hikaru started to turn away, but then finally realized what Omari was doing. "Cleaning up after my mess, huh? Uh...sorry about that..."

"Whatever."

Hikaru decided to try again. "You need some help? It is my fault your room got messed up and stuff, after all."

"No."

"C'mon! I'm lucky I'm accepted back onto the team and allowed in the hideout. I should at least pay for a new door..."

"No. Once a Kingpin Kunai, always a Kingpin Kunai. That is, unless you don't QUIT on all of your teammates and leave for another squad without saying goodbye the right way!" Omari angrily slammed her sopping wet sponge into the bucket of suds, then took it out and started scrubbing again.

Hikaru flinched.

"And, about the help thing, I don't need it." Omari said, sniffing. "So, just go away, please."

"Why??" Hikaru was hurt.

Omari put her sudsy sponge down and then looked at him straight in the eye. "'Cause I don't like you. You got a problem with that?"

"Yeah. I do." Hikaru said, but in a nice tone. "I'm not getting any of this. How come you're letting me back on the team and live back here with you guys when you don't even like me or want my help?"

"Did you not hear what I just said?!"

Hikaru sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Once a Kingpin Kunai, always a-"

"No! Not that! The going away part!" Omari yelled impatiently. "Now, get away! Please! I've got work to do around here!"

"...Oh." Hikaru gulped.

"Besides," Omari said in a now calm, smooth tone, "you should get your rest. You've got a really long day of training ahead of you."

"What!" Hikaru yelled in disbelief. "Training?!"

"You may have no demon inside of you, but you still have a Kekkei Genkai." Omari said. "You can't even do the Shadow Blend technique or sense and feel the moods of weather like we all can. You're way behind us all, and I'm the one who's going to catch you up."

"Oh. Uh...okay." Hikaru gulped again. This was going to be one tough lesson tomorrow.

"Now, get out of my sight."

"Y-yes, ma'am..." Hikaru said sheepishly, starting to turn and walk away.

Omari picked up her sponge again and started to scrub another spot of blood on her green carpet.

Hikaru suddenly turned back around with something close to anger in his eyes. "And, Omari...?"

"What is it now?" Omari turned to look at him. She looked tired now.

"I hope you realize that from now on you're going to have to find someone else to be with."

"Huh?!" Omari was as confused as ever.

Hikaru laughed. "Let's just put it this way: You can't marry a ghost."

_**...END OF AFTERMATH!!...**_

_**TURN TO THE 1ST CHAPTER OF THE LONELY REMEDY! **_

_**GO NOW AFTER READING THESE MESSAGES!!**_

_**You know, if you were any kind of a reader who !!PAYS ATTENTION!! to the characters and their likes/dislikes, you should be able to figure out what Hikaru meant by saying to Omari, "You can't marry a ghost''. If you need me to tell you, AND you like Hikaru, then I'd say that you go back about 3 chapters and start reading them again.**_

_**But, just to let you know, Hikaru is telling Omari that if she wants to find love and all of that, then it should be Hikaru, since there is no way Omari can marry Haku or anything. Hikaru's definatley hoping it's him. Hikaru is saying that if she ever hopes to marry or anything, then she must eliminate Haku from the choices, since there is no way it could work.**_

_**So...did you like the end of the Aftermath?? I know it was a bit rushed, but I think it was an okay ending. The Lonely Remedy is a bit more romantic, but is a bit more interesting and has a few new characters involved. Just review on this chapter (does puppy face) PLEASE??? I know you want to review it! Just go and write a short little review, and then go to the 1st Lonely Remedy Chapter! It's that simple!!**_


	23. The Lonely Remedy: 1: The Fresh Start

_**Before we begin...**_

_**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: SUBJECT: I'M INCREDIBLY SORRY/)./)**_

_**I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE CONFUSION THAT I CAUSED DURING THIS WHOLE SERIES WITH YOUNG HAKU FINDING THE TRACKER'S MASK IN CHAPTER 4. I made it like he had never learned to become a tracker ninja. Well, he did (of course). I forgot to enter the fact that Haku had taken the tracker's courses ages 12-15 to improve his skills and to avoid raising suspicons about him. The tracker ninja eventually found that he was a 'traitor of the mist' and was really passing off to be a tracker ninja all of the time to prevent being caught. And so, they chased after he and Zabuza all over again. The tracker courses the story's three-year interval at the beginning of 'The Aftermath'. It's a little much to take in all at once, but that is what happened. SORRY!! I'LL GET ON THAT ASAP!! ON WITH THE LONELY REMEDY!!**_

_**Happy Reading!! ;)**_

_**The Lonely Remedy: 1: Kamichi's Fresh Start...**_

_**...Three Weeks Later...**_

"You guys..." Toshiro gave his friends an uncertain look. "I'm...not sure that this new kid's cut out for our squad..."

"C'mon, dude..." Masakaru replied to his leader. "Kamichi's been on our squad for almost a month now. He was on his own when he came along. I think we should give him a chance. He seems like he really needs friends."

"But...he's so WEIRD!" Toshiro exclaimed. "And I've never seen a special contract for Squad 101 that states that we _have_ to accept weirdoes on the team."

"Toshiro, I think you're overreacting. Give him a chance to fit in. I think he'll do just fine here..." Midori cooed in her super-sweet voice while standing in front of Toshiro's mirror, fixing her hair into two sleek, light brown ponytails.

"Why, you think Kamichi's strong enough to keep up with all of our missions?" Kouki looked at her skeptically. Midori usually wasn't one to pay attention to things like that.

"No, it's because I think he's CUTE, you dolt!" Midori snapped at Kouki. "He should stay."

Kouki and Masakaru shook their heads and sighed. Midori was just too much sometimes. The super-preppy one of any squad always seemed to stick out.

Toshiro blushed and glared at the floor when Midori had said this. It made him feel the urge to create a rivalry with Kamichi even more, now that one of the prettiest shinobi girls in the Hidden Mist Village had a crush on him. There was no point in asking Midori out on a date now. Toshiro had always thinking about getting up his nerve and asking her, but that would be stupid now that Kamichi was around.

Toshiro knew that Kamichi exceeded the standards that needed to be met to join Squad 101. Toshiro was almost afraid of his abilities, actually. That was also why he wasn't sure about keeping him on the squad.

"Kamichi has the most _perfect _smile in the world!" Midori cooed, sighing dreamily.

Kouki rolled her eyes. She wasn't really a boy-crazy girl like Midori. Sure, Kouki thought Kamichi was very good-looking, but she didn't talk dreamily about him all day long. "I'll bet you 300 ryo that you'll be making out with Kamichi by Friday night." Kouki challenged. Kouki was always making bets with Midori, just to silently prove that she was always right and Midori, Kouki's daft, boy-crazy, pathetic twelve-year-old rival was always wrong.

"I'll take that bet! Because I know I wont!" Midori shot back at her rival angrily, trying to force a tone of honesty. "Today's Thursday! It's gross and it's totally disrespectful to myself to kiss him! I don't even know the kid!"

"Whatever." Kouki smiled slightly, as she shook Midori's dainty, soft little hand. She knew that she was going to win the bet. She knew how Midori was with ninja boys that she seemed to like. It was totally disgusting for a kid like Midori, but Kouki always got a kick out it. She knew that a guy like Kamichi probably already fell head-over-heels for Midori.

_Most_ guys would, actually. Kouki found it rediculous. What made Midori so attractive besides her charming smile, 'adorable' face, perfect shining hair, girly ninja headband, and her lulling voice? Nothing. She was all-beauty on the outside, but her inside was just a dark hole of stupidity.

Ignoring the girls' conversation, Masakaru finally spoke up again. "Toshiro, I really don't think this group meeting's nessecary. I mean, calling us in your room and telling us about how you feel about Kamichi and all...it really seems kinda awkward. We barely know the guy, so let's give him a chance."

"Yes! Let's do that!" Midori squealed excitedly.

Toshiro looked at Kouki. "Hm...what do you think, Kouki? How do you feel about Kamichi?"

Kouki looked around nervously at her squad members. She always got like this whenever someone asked her a question. All attention on her. Not that she was shy, just...unsure of herself. Especially with Midori around. "I...dunno. He may need a little bit of work. Y'know, we can work on his style a bit. Other than that, he may be a good team member."

Toshiro sighed, nodding. Maybe his teammates were right. "...Okay. Alright, then. We'll see how he does. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"That's okay!" Midori smiled merrily. "I didn't have anything to do, anyway! It's all rainy and icky-looking outside."

Toshiro merely nodded, watching everyone depart from the room. He plopped his head down on a pillow and sighed. "Oh, and Kouki..." He called out to her, since she was the last who was about to go out of the room.

"Huh?'' Kouki turned.

"Please shut the door on your way out."

_**...Meanwhile...**_

Kamichi sighed as he rolled over on his small, comfortable bed inside of his own room. It had only been a few weeks since he had taken off to start a new life, and he missed Omari and the others already.

He knew that he could return to them whenever he wished, but that would make him feel really, really stupid.

Besides, it was totally better here. He was happier. He wasn't sure about every single one of his new teammates, but this was going okay so far. He had joined up with Squad 101 in particular because they seemed like rogue ninja who were more focused on their work than friendship. They were all about his age, and they each seemed deeply troubled in their own way, just like him. None of them had parents anymore, making all of them a bit angry on the inside about their past.

Kamichi was for once glad that rogue ninja squads didn't HAVE to have a particular number of people in them. Four was the average number, but nobody yelled at you or shoved you into a squad you didn't want to be in if you had five or more on your team, like how it was with the good-doers. You couldn't have enough squad members, but it was always best to at least have three.

Kamichi really didn't need or want friends, and wanted to be alone, but you could still be alone while having people around you. Being alone was a matter of friendships and having people understand you.

All in all, he wouldn't really call anyone on Squad 101 friends. Yet.

Toshiro was the leader of the group, the big softy that acted kind torwards others. _Most_ of the time. ...No, scratch that. He was kind torwards others _sometimes._ He certainly was a great, strong leader who never let anyone he cared about out of his sight, but Kamichi felt quite uncomfortable around him. He also had a Kekkei Genkai, but not really a dangerous one. Toshiro seemed to know what he was doing, though. He really seemed to understand his own abilities. He also had a huge crush on Midori. Kamichi really wasn't suprised, though. Kamichi felt that Toshiro was trying to start a rivalry with him.

Kamichi didn't like rivalries, especially the ones he had been through in the past.

Masakaru was pretty cool. He sort of reminded Kamichi of Zamu. Masakaru was the one who was third in command, but never really kissed up to Toshiro at all. He was his own person, which was what Kamichi admired about him. Like Zamu, Masakaru was the doctor-like ninja of the group. He had some healing abilities. Masakaru was also fairly nice to Kamichi, but seemed a bit stern, which was okay. He was the only guy in the group who didn't freeze up or stare when Midori came along. He was cool and collected, and he could control himself.

Kamichi had no idea why Midori was the one who was second in command. She was gorgeous, and even Kamichi felt funny whenever she came along. Maybe, under all of that shiny lip gloss, beautiful hair, and hypnotizing smile, she was a tough shinobi (even though it was a bit hard to believe that such a foolish, bouncy girl was _that_ strong). Midori acted pretty kind to just about everyone, all except for Kouki. She and Kouki seemed to be rivals, but Midori was definatley the dominant one. Kamichi also found it amazing that she didn't act _too _concieted. She flaunted her beauty sometimes and used her cute charm to talk Toshiro into things, but never really stood up and announced that she was the best-looking shinobi in the world.

And then there was Kouki. The 'weird' one. She was always so indescisive and kept to herself. Kamichi wanted to know more about her. Her past. Kouki's mysteriousness gave Kamichi sort of a wary feeling. He wasn't sure he could really trust her. She dressed in a dark purple cloak with a hood every day, and had a Kekkei Genkai, along with Toshiro, but it seemed like Kouki didn't really know about her true power that much.

It was a pretty strong group of kids, but they weren't nearly as good as Zamu, Slicer, Omari, Tarina, Haku, Zabuza, or even Hikaru. Toshiro was the leader, yet he was at only a chunin level, along with everyone else. Toshiro wasn't a bad ninja at all, but not even close to jonin level yet.

Kamichi wondered if he qualified as a jonin himself.

Kamichi knew that this group did some bad things. _Really _bad things, things that the Kingpin Kunais would never do to people. They did terrible things to houses, trackers, and regular people for fun. It sometimes ended up in a victim's fatality. They ended up never being caught or identified as criminals by the trackers just yet, because they were kids and they wore masks when they carried out their missions. Kamichi never participated, but knew he would have to sooner or later, or else they'd all think he was a weirdo.

If you put aside what they did for activities, then there were the gory missions that they were assigned to. Kamichi had stood apart from slaughtering anyone who was meant to be assasinated on a mission, but only because Masakaru said that the new kids should take time to observe what the others did before joining in. Good.

It wasn't really the best squad to hang out with, but it was a squad to hang out with. Kamichi didn't want the friendship, he just wanted the company and the training. He never told anyone in the squad that, but he knew that they would perfectly understand him.

Kamichi yawned as he glanced at the clock. It was eight o' clock at night, and he was tired, although he didn't really do anything the whole day due to the rain, except for play a board game or two with Masakaru. The rain had started to slow down, though. Kamichi figured that it would stop by tomorrow. His thoughts started to blur, then began to close up.

The pitter-pattering of raindrops on the metallic roof of the hideout made Kamichi even sleepier than before, so he started to drift off...

_**...2 Hours Later...**_

"Kamichi!" Came a giggly voice from behind Kamichi's door. The door opened, someone stepped inside, then shut it.

Kamichi moaned slightly when he had heard such a loud noise. He heard footsteps coming torwards the foot of his bed, so he threw off his covers and took a look at his intruder.

Kamichi sat up with a jolt, nearly falling off of his bed when he saw who it was.

It was Midori.

"Um...hi, Midori. What...what are you doing here?" He asked her, wide awake now. He found himself smiling a goofy smile and blushing. He hated himself for that. He had to remember that Midori really wasn't that good of a person on the inside, and that Toshiro liked her.

"Just wanted to drop by and talk to you..." Midori cooed.

"Uh..." Kamichi's eyes went even wider. "Me?! Talk to _me_? About what?"

"You being on the team and all..." Midori droned, but in her regular high-pitched sweet voice. "You see, to be honest, I don't think Toshiro likes you very much. I was just curious to know what it was that he didn't like about you. What do you think it is?" She asked.

Midori hoped it wasn't too obvious that she was just finding an excuse to see and talk to Kamichi. Also, she wanted to know more about his personality. But right now, Midori was just focused on looks. She couldn't stop looking at his delicate-looking face, even when she wasn't talking to him.

"I dunno...he thinks I'm...just...weird." Kamichi shrugged, still blushing. He could hardly believe she wanted to talk to him, and he was overjoyed that he finally found a reasonable excuse to stare at her.

"What was your past like?"

"Well, heh..." Kamichi scratched his head and smiled nervously, making Midori giggle. He knew that telling Midori that he had been on the Kingpin Kunais team would be impossible. She wouldn't believe The Kingpin Kunais were practically role models for every young suad of Hidden Mist rogue ninja, and he didn't want them all worshipping him or anything like that. But, knowing them, they probably wouldn't. Why not? "Um...I...was on the Kingpin Kunais squad before...but that didn't turn out too well." He said, skipping the part that told where he was born and lived in.

"What?! Really?! You know them?!" Midori yelled excitedly, beaming. Kamichi was better than she had thought.

A bit taken aback by Midori's response, Kamichi scratched his head again. "Um...yeah..."

"Did you..." The wide-eyed Midori started, then stopped.

"Huh?" Kamichi asked.

"Did you...get a bandanna?" Midori asked, putting her hand up to her forehead protector without even thinking about it. Kamichi couldn't help but notice that the band of her forehead protector was pink, and the metal part had sort of a pink shade to it, too.

"Um...yes, I did." Kamichi replied, nodding and reaching into a dresser drawer to get it. "It does have blood on it, though..." He warned her, in case she was the type of girl who got all squealy when she saw bugs or blood or anything else gross.

"That's awesome!" Midori whispered excitedly as Kamichi took out the purple bandanna and showed it to her. She didn't dare touch it, though. Otherwise she would feel that she had soiled it. Her eyes suddenly grew huge again as she looked straight into Kamichi's eyes. "Hey...did you...know Tarina? Y'know, the previous leader of the Kingpin Kunais before the other girl came in?"

Kamichi wanted to know how she knew all this, if there was a club of crazed Kingpin Kunais fans, but that wasn't important now. "Um...yeah. I knew her. She was an awesome leader. And...the current leader is Omari." He almost choked at saying her name. "She's really cool and very strong, too."

Midori nodded, which seemed to end the conversation. Kamichi was happy that Midori didn't ask why Kamichi hadn't stayed with them, that he didn't have to explain all that he has been through.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, with Kamichi staring into space, having a thumb war with himself, and Midori, who kept staring right at him.

Kamichi liked when Midori was around him, but the exaustion started setting into him again, making his eyes droop a little. He turned his head a bit to look at Midori. "Um...y'know, it's getting kinda late..."

"Yeah..." Midori giggled, scooting a bit closer to him, "...it is."

Kamichi's mind went nuts. He was blushing so much that he thought his face would explode. He then blushed even more, knowing that Midori could see his blush. "Um...um...I...I...uh..."

Before he could say anything more, Midori placed a soft kiss right on his mouth. Kamichi gasped, as startled as ever. He jumped back a bit. It was sort of nice, but it didn't seem right at all. It seemed so weird, but...was this how all first kisses were supossed to make you feel? "Uh..." A small, involuntary smile crossed his face.

Midori suddenly grabbed Kamichi by the cheeks, pulled him forward, and kissed him for about twenty seconds straight. Kamichi made a small, pitiful cry, and hated himself for not knowing how to kiss her back. This just didn't feel right. It just didn't...

Midori finally let go of Kamichi's face, gently breaking the kiss. He saw her with a huge smile on her face. Kamichi felt paralyzed. "Uh...I...oh, gosh..." Kamichi swooned right onto his bed and somehow falling asleep at the exact same time.

Smiling, Midori pulled Kamichi's covers up to his neck, and then gently brushing Kamichi's cheek with her lips. "Goodnight, Kamichi..." She whispered, as contented as could be. She went to the doorway of his room, flicked off the lights, and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Meanwhile, Kouki was smiling from her post just outside of Kamichi's open window. She had seen everything. bedroom window. "Nice." She whispered. "That's 300 ryo she owes me now." Kouki smirked as she put down the hand sign she was making to return visible again. She then ran around to the other side of the hideout, and snuck in through the front door.

_**...Back at the Kingpin Kunais' Hideout...**_

Hikaru slowly walked into the living room, finding Omari on the couch by herself, watching an action movie with a bowl of sugary cereal in her hands. Hikaru found it odd that Omari was eating a bowl of strange cereal at ten-thirty at night, but he decided not to comment on that.

The last few weeks were brutal for Hikaru. Although he learned the Shadow Blend technique, and Omari was a good teacher, she was as mean as a snake. She turned from a kind, super-sweet teenager to a grump who pushed Hikaru around all day, and it was all a matter of two weeks. She reminded Hikaru of how Tarina used to train him.

"Hey, Omari..." Hikaru said, wanting to start a conversation with her. Zamu and Slicer were too hard to talk to, and he _needed _someone to talk to right now before he exploded.

Omari swallowed. "Uuugh...please, Hikaru. I'm eating..." She moaned, glaring at him.

Hikaru just wasn't getting it. "Yeah...I can see that..." He said, scratching his head.

"Yeah, and I would also like you to see that I don't want to throw up right now." Omari said, looking away from him. "I'm _EATING! _The point is, you're in here, I'm eating, and I don't want to hurl. It can't get any more simpler than that!" She said coldly, tears forming in her eyes. She was always crying these days, no matter what kind of situation it was.

Hikaru looked down at himself. Nothing was wrong with him. He didn't have a bug on his face or snot in his nose or anything gross like that. Then, he realized that it was _him _that was making Omari sick. She didn't like him. Offended, Hikaru sniffed, and was about to walk away, but then he finally decided to just plop down next to her on the couch.

Omari scooted away from Hikaru as far as possible, putting her bowl of cereal down. "Please. Get away from me." She said, wide-eyed.

"But...but...I want to sit down on the couch..." Hikaru stammered, pretending to act all shy and innocent.

"If you want to sit down with me, then you must want my fist in your face as well," Omari growled in a warning tone.

"No, I'm just going to take the sitting down part, thank you." Hikaru replied smoothly. "I don't need a bonus."

"I don't care if you want me to hit you or not! I'll really do it if you don't leave me alone!" Omari said.

Hikaru cocked his head to the side a bit. "How come you're so mean to me?"

"Because! I...don't..._like...YOU!_" Omari exploded. "Now get away from me!"

Hikaru just smiled. "Fine, whatever." He said neutrally, standing up. "I'll leave the cranky old lady alone if she wants me to."

"Thank you!" Omari said. "And I'm _not _a cranky old lady, because if I were, you'd be dead by now." She growled through clenched teeth. She wasn't even sure if that made any sense.

"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight, Omari..." Hikaru smirked again, slowly departing from the room.

"Hmph." Omari scooted back to her normal spot, arms crossed, watching him the entire time he left.

Omari hand suddenly shot up to her cheek, and she gasped in shock and horror. She found that she had been blushing the entire time.

_**...11 Hours Later (the next morning)...**_

_**...At Squad 101's Hideout...**_

Kamichi awoke to a late start. He immediatley panicked He leapt out of bed, grabbed his clothes, and made a break for the bathroom. Once he was done getting ready in the bathroom, he opened the door to see Midori's face right in his. Midori was appropriatley dressed for the day, all ready to go. Kamichi wondered if she had been waiting for him to awaken this entire time. He sure hoped not.

"Gooooood morning, _Kami-chi!_" Midori sang in a friendly tone. "Did you sleep well?"

Kamichi reddened, remembering how he had passed out right after Midori had kissed him. "Um...yes, thank you. Sorry about fainting after...you know. I wasn't really expecting it..." He smiled.

"That's okay!" Midori grinned, hugging Kamichi.

Kamichi felt uncomfortable, and he felt like he needed a break from her, otherwise he would be squished to death in a matter of hours. He gently broke the hug, smiling nervously at her. "Uuh...you know, I really need to get started on my training..."

"Okay!" Midori said. "Actually, all of us are going out to train today, but I think it's great you're getting an early start. We'll see you out there in a few minutes. Just be careful not to slip and fall in the mud while you train!" She waved.

"Okay, I wont!" Kamichi assured her, waving back. He then ran out of the door to the back of the hideout, which was the training field.

Midori giggled as he ran away. She knew very well how much she was creeping out Kamichi by being so attached to him, but that how it was supposed to be. In a few days, she would simmer down the creepiness, then Kamichi would become completley attached to _her_. He was already getting more and more used to her clinging to him and he didn't even know it. It was simple, yet perfect.

Just then, Kouki came out from her bedroom, passing Midori on her way to the bathroom, shooting her a weird glance.

Midori touched her shoulder, and Kouki turned. Midori reached into her pocket and then pulled out 350 ryo. She shoved it into her hands. "I knew you were watching, and I don't regret a thing. It was all worth it and _more._" Midori grinned, patting Kouki's back and skipping to the back door.

Kouki shook her head and stuffed the money into her pocket. Scowling, she stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

_**...Thirty Minutes Later...**_

Toshiro took out three small shuriken and whipped them at a straw dummy. Only two of them hit. Cursing, he took out two small kunais and furiously shot them at a log. Both of them hit, and Toshiro was finally satisfied.

Kamichi was sitting out, sulking. It was just that this training field reminded Kamichi so much of the ones back at Haku and Zabuza's hideout, and the Kingpin Kunais'. Although he was practicing with his new teammates, he still felt as lonely as ever.

But, him leaving was for the best, right? If he was suffering, Kamichi had no one to blame but himself for messing up so badly back there at Hikaru's tower.

Right?

Masakaru looked over at Kamichi from a couple feet away. His eyebrows wrinkled in worry. "Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah...I'm fine."

Masakaru got a stern look on his face. "Well, if you're fine, then you should get up and train. Why are you just sitting out like that?"

Kamichi shrugged, looking down.

"I don't trust you saying that you're fine. You seem so glum, and you act and look like you've just lost your best friend. On the other hand, if you happen to be speaking the truth, then I have to say that you're as lazy as Midori."

"I heard that!" Midori yelled from the other side of the training field, running over to where they both were.

Masakaru didn't seem to care that Midori had heard his insult, which suprised Kamichi. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, shrugged, and went off to a different side of the feild.

Midori still kept coming.

Kamichi twitched. He didn't want her coming over here. Kamichi knew she meant well, trying to form a relationship with him and all, but she was coming on _way _too strong. It was creeping Kamichi out.

"Hello, Kamichi." Midori sat closely next to him. _Too _close. "Was Masakaru bothering you?"

"Nah. It's okay." Kamichi said gloomily, picking at the dark green grass he was sitting on.

"Is something on your mind?"

"Nope." Kamichi mumbled.

Midori lightly nudged him. "C'mon, you can tell me anything. And I wouldn't tell anyone your business if you didn't want me to."

"Nothing's wrong. I'm positive. It's nothing." Kamichi said in finality, wishing that Midori would just go away now.

"I see..." Midori said quietly. After a few seonds, leaned over and softly kissed him again, making Kamichi blush so much that he once again thought all of his blood would explode from the top of his head like a volcano.

Kamichi really, really hoped that Toshiro was watching. It wasn't like Toshiro ever had a speial connection with Midori, but Kamichi could tell that he had a crush on her, judging from the way Toshiro blushed and scratched his head when she ever passed or talked to her. Kamichi was also certain that having a crush on Midori was not the only reason why he had accepted her on the team. Toshiro really believed in her.

_But, it's not like Midori really liked him before...she likes me. And if she likes me, that's okay, as long as Toshiro and Midori had a slight relationship before, which I'm pretty sure they haven't. So, it's okay that I'm kissing her...right? _Kamichi's thoughts rambled in his head. It was hard to concentrate with Midori kissing him, after all.

The wrong feeling deep inside of Kamichi still didn't go away, either.

Midori pulled away, all giggly again. Kamichi blushed and looked away. It was too embarassing, because he always felt that he was too young to have a girlfriend or anything like that. He had never had anything like this before, and it was totally uncomfortable and gave him a messed-up feeling inside. But...he was enjoying it all the while.

He didn't know why he felt so weird and wrong here...

Kamichi suddenly realized that it was probably the absence of adults around here. Squad 101 took care of themselves. Nobody was telling them what to do or wen to go to bed. No goodnight hugs or kisses anymore (unless you counted Midori). There was no one to take care of them except for themselves, but they were each of their own kind: Kids.

Every move Kamichi made felt like he was doing something bad, since there was no adult or older person around to supervise it.

Midori stood, looking down with Kamichi, her arms crossed. "Hey, Kamichi. You wanna train with me? We could have a sparring match!"

"Uh..." Kamichi's eyes grew wide with horror. "Um...I don't think that's such a good idea..."

"Are you either afraid of hurting me, getting hurt by me, or fighting me in general?" Midori put her hands on her hips.

"Fighting you in general." Kamichi quickly replied, quickly deciding in his head that it was the best one to pick.

"C'mon, Kamichi!" Midori pleaded.

"I wasn't really in the mood to use jutsus right now. My chakra's settled." Kamichi told her in a relaxed tone. "I was just planning on meditating today."

"We wont use ninjutsu or genjutsu. How's that? Then, nobody can get really hurt." Midori suggested.

"Okay..." Kamichi sighed, standing up with her. "I'll have _one_ short match with you."

"Yaaaayy!" Midori cheered happily, taking Kamichi's hand and dragging him to a small section of forest near a stream. "Let's go!!"

Meanwhile, Toshiro watched enviously from afar. He was so mad that Midori had found Kamichi so attractive.

_I don't get it. What are the odds of picking up a new squad member that's good-looking, smart, and strong? _Toshiro wondered n his head. _There MUST be something else about him that makes him cool. I mean, what does Kamichi have that I don't have? I'm not that stupid or ugly...or weak. Am I weaker? Is that it?_

Toshiro could kill Kamichi for this, even though he knew very well that the kid didn't do anything wrong. He saw Midori kiss him not even five minutes ago. He couldn't take his eyes away from the two of him. He liked to imagine himself being in the place of Kamichi, but that made him even more angry.

_Maybe...I could use a Replacement Jutsu while they're kissing! _Toshiro thought deviously. _Kamichi's too shocked and nervous to pay attention when Midori's like that, so maybe I can pull it off, only for a second. Then, we can switch back before either Kamichi or Midori knows it._

Two seconds after coming up with the plan, he destroyed it. No. That would be so wrong. He wasn't like any old sicko boy wanting a kiss from his crush. He wouldn't stoop to that level. He was way too good for that.

As a matter of fact, everyone in the world was way too good for something like that.

Kamichi deserved Midori.

That is, unless Toshiro could somehow get rid of Kamichi...or at least win Midori over.

_**...Meanwhile..**_

"C'mon! After all that I've taught you, you shouldn't be hesitating like this, Hikaru!" Omari was screaming across the training feild. "Get in there and FIGHT!"

"Uh..." Hikaru nervously looked at his temorary training partner, Zamu. He was supossed to be having a sparing match with him, but he wasn't losing or winning. He just stood there, not knowing what to do.

"Hikaru, you have to make a move once in a while! Just dodging isn't going to get you anywhere!" Zamu glared at Hikaru. "We're trying to help you train and get stronger! You should know three offensive jutsus by now!"

"Shut up, smarty-goon! I'm thinkin'!" Hikaru yelled back menacingly, putting his hand to his chin and looking down.

"You don't have time to think! You just fight and think about your next move at the same time! You gotta be quick!" Omari screamed in frustration.

"Easy for you to say! You're just a supervisor! The only thing you're doing is watching!" Hikaru yelled back.

"Yeah! Watching you act like a pathetic loser!" Omari growled loudly. "Now, use one of your jutsus or something before I come over there and smack you!!"

Omari had made sure to be extra mean to Hikaru from now on for two main reasons. One, because he pouted all day long and was turning out to be a horrible squad member. Hikaru could be smart and strong when he wanted to be, but never liked to show it. The second reason was to only prove to herself that she didn't _like _him. Maybe being harsh would bring out his more insulting side, and Omari would be reminded of how annoying he could be.

Hikaru flinched at the threat, then turned to see Zamu bolting torwards him with a kunai in his hand. Hikaru backed up a bit, the yelled, "Water Clone Jutsu!"

About five clones appeared before Zamu, who had stopped with his attack to observe the clones closely and find out which one to strike out at.

It wasn't so hard.

The real Hikaru hopefully looked around at his clones, then screamed out in frustration. His clones had ended up looking entirely different from himself. One of them had hair about fifteen feet long, one had googly eyes and glasses, one was screaming and running around with his hair on fire, one was dressed in a bathrobe and towel wrapped around his head, and the last one... wasn't even shaped like Hikaru. It was a pink hamster.

"Whaaaaatt is thiiisss?!" Omari screeched at the top of her lungs, hands slapped to her head. Even Zamu had stopped paying attention to the match and was staring in shock at the horrible outcome of the Water Clones. "Hikaru, you don't even _look _like a deformed hamster! What is your problem!?"

"Awo'no!"

"What do you mean, you don't know?! You're the one who did it!"

"I...I wasn't paying attention to how they looked!" Hikaru cried, but was still scratching his head in embarassment. He approached her nervously. "I guess I was just concerned with the hand signs. I made whatever came to mind!"

"So, instead of focusing on battle, you were thinking of pink hamsters?" Zamu asked in disbelief.

"NO!" Hikaru screamed. "If I were really thinking of hamsters and it came out of my jutsu, it would be bigger and meaner and with more fangs and claws! I _was _focused on the battle!"

"Weirdo..." Zamu shook his head and sighed.

Hikaru was about to explode, but Omari managed to get there first. "You worthless little creep! You weren't even concentrating! You were thinking about hair and hamsters and bathrobes and fire and googly eyes! You call THAT focus?! You're fourteen years old, and you can't stop thinking about dumb six-year-old garbage like that!?"

"My birthday's passed...?" Hikaru suddenly stopped paying attention to Omari screaming at him. He looked at Zamu. "Um...what day is it?"

"It's October 30th..." Zamu shrugged. "But, you should really be paying attention to-"

"Oh, cool!" Hikaru said, pleased. "It passed by about a week ago! I _am _fourteen!"

_"DID YOU JUST HEAR A WORD I SAID?!" _Omari erupted as Zamu quietly and nervously slipped back into the hideout. "Forget your birthdate! Just listen to me when I'm yelling at you!"

"I'd rather not..." Hikaru said meekly, twiddling his thumbs. "You know, you're really scary when you yell like that."

Omari raised her hand to smack Hikaru as hard as possible. He flinched, stepping back a bit. But for some strange reason, she just couldn't bring herself to it. Maybe she _was _being a bit too harsh, although she never had liked Hikaru much.

"What's wrong?! Aren't you going to pummel me, and then kick me out?" Hikaru challenged cockily.

Omari put her shaky hand down, then glared at him. "No. You're just lucky you're still here. Otherwise, you'd be caught from the mass murder you commited over by the Mizukage's house in a matter of three days. They're still searching for the guy who did it, you know."

"Yeah, sure..." Hikaru waved her off, but slightly trembling. "They'll probably find some other suspicious-looking sucker from the good-doer troop sooner or later. They would never expect some _six-year-old_ to do it, anyway."

Omari had to agree with that. Her eyes softened back up a little, and she suddenly felt guilty for what she said. She sighed, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Hikaru. You...you're not a six year old, and you're not worthless or a creep. I didn't mean any of that. Got it?"

"Yes..." Hikaru said quietly. "I'm sorry for being such a jerk all of the time...I know you're really upset about...you know. I shouldn't instigate you guys like that, knowing how much you hate me and all. I know I can try harder and do better." He said, looking down.

"Hikaru...we don't hate you." Omari said. "I mean, you're getting there. We're starting to like you again even more. Despite your attitude sometimes, you're becoming a better person by not doing the things you were doing before."

"R-really? But, you're always saying that you-"

"I know. I...don't mean it..." Omari whispered, starting to cry. "I know I act like a jerk and threaten you sometimes, and I know that I'll act even meaner torwards you in the future. But I would _never_ abandon you or kick you out or anything, just as I would never do that to Zamu or Slicer. I truly love you as much as I love Zamu and Slicer. I can't control what Zamu and Slicer think of you, but I'll always be here to help you. That's what leaders are for."

Hikaru was speechless. It felt like Omari had reopened another valve in his heart, one that let kindness and love in. He suddenly remembered Tarina saying something very similar to what Omari had said.

_..."I know I act lke I hate you, and I most likely will express false hatred torwards you as long as these demons are inside of us. But, I'll never stop loving you. I'll never abandon you in my heart, even if one of us kills the other. I can't change what others think of you, but I'll be your teacher whom you can tell everything to. I'll help you get through your troubles and give you all the love you need. That's what big sisters are for."..._

Hikaru twitched a small smile at the thought. The feeling of knowing you were loved made him feel so safe and warm inside.

"I'll always be here for you, Hikaru..." Omari sniffled. "But now...I'm just so messed up lately...I don't think I can go on like this much longer..." She suddenly fell into Hikaru's arms, sobbing. "I couldn't stand it if any more of you left me. Now that Kamichi left, I feel like I'm torn in half. You don't understand the pain a squad leader feels when they've lost a team member..."

Hikaru knew Omari felt something special for Kamichi. Right after Omari found that he was alive again, he had left her. The pain for her was unbearable, just like the pain Tarina had felt when Hikaru had died. Hikaru then wished more than anything that he could go get Kamichi for her. He could bring him back to the hideout and make him stay.

But that wasn't possible.

_..."This is where YOUR love comes in, Hikaru. You may not be able to turn back time to save what your friend has lost, but you still have your own love to give. Yes, it feels good to be loved, but it's also good to give love back." _Hikaru remembered Tarina say. _"You could physically do just about anything for your loved one, but it wont bring back what they have lost."..._

"Things will get better, Omari..." Hikaru said, trying to feel sympatetic love for her to make her feel better. It didn't seem to be working.

Omari just kept crying, making Hikaru feel pretty teary-eyed himself.

_..."You can't try to love someone. It just happens. If you really don't love them, then it wont happen. It'll come in time, but it can't just come on a whim, otherwise we'd all be loving and hugging each other on this crazy planet!" _He remembered Tarina laughing. _"If you can't find love or room in your heart, then there's nothing you can do. It's over. And how do I know this, you ask? I have no idea. We're just two demon-stricken kids trying to survive out here, so... maybe my 'knowledge' is totally invalid. Maybe it comes from the Moon. Or...maybe...the knowledge just comes from my own heart. I dunno. All I know is, you just have to wait for love to come from your heart and for it to come to you, otherwise you'll just end up depressed."..._

Weirdo _did _have a point.

Then, he remembered himself asking Tarina a question at about six years old. _"I don't get it. Why do people say that love remains in their hearts forever and all? I mean, the blood in your heart pumps in, and then it goes out to other places in your body. So, technically, nothing can remain in our hearts forever. And the technical stuff is as real as it can get, otherwise, you go crazy. I really don't get all of this love stuff."_

_..."Neither do I, Hikaru. Neither do I. In fact, I think very few people understand what true love means. Most humans can understand the term 'fondness', but not love. Some humans are stupid like that."..._

Hikaru sniffled as he held onto Omari tightly, trying to make her feel better, but there was quite an uncomfortable feeling as well. He knew that he loved Omari in a special way in which he wanted to marry her, but Omari would probably never feel the same way. Not after the tremendous friendship made with Haku.

Would she?

Omari simmered down a bit, suddenly realizing what she was doing. She quickly but gently pulled away from Hikaru, looking right at him. "I'm...I'm sorry for crying all over you, Hikaru. I...I gotta go now. You should really get to practicing that jutsu." She said quickly, standing straight up and running torwards the hideout, her face a bright red. "I-I'll be back to test you later!" She called back to him as she disappeared into the doorway.

Hikaru stood up after she left, and went back to training without another word or complaint. He was smiling to himself all the while.

_**...Back at Squad 101's Hideout...**_

"C'mon, Kamichi! Is that the best you've got?!" Midori challenged playfully, stopping to look at the already exausted boy.

"Heh heh..." Kamichi smiled weakly. They had been at it for over fifteen minutes, and Kamichi had to admit that Midori's taijutsu was pretty good. Toshiro had been a good teacher.

Midori threw a punch at Kamichi while he was off guard, and he dodged it easily. She whipped out five shuriken and threw them at Kamichi in a gentle, graceful manner, yet they flew torwards him at a great speed rate.

Kamichi quickly spun around in a tornado, repelling each shuriken.

"Oou, who taught you that move?" Midori cooed, impressed. "Pretty cool."

"A friend..." Kamichi shrugged, preparing for his next attack. He didn't want to be caught off guard again, otherwise it would be dangerous, even though it was a mere sparring match.

"Yaah!" Midori disappeared behind Kamichi in a flash and tried to kick him.

Kamichi whipped around just in time and stopped it with his hand.

"Heh! You don't have a chance." Midori sneered at him, still not giving up with the kick.

"How do you know?" Kamichi wanted to know.

"Just a feeling..." Midori disappeared right before his eyes, then reappeared behind Kamichi again.

As soon as Kamichi turned around, Midori lightly kissed his cheek. Kamichi cried out, stumbling backwards untill he hit the ground. "Heeey!" He laughed.

Midori giggled. "Yaaay! I win! It's always the element of suprise that gets your opponent!" She said as she helped him up. "Now I know how to beat you!"

"Oh, no, you don't. I'll know what's gonna happen next time for sure."

"Not if I combine it with the Water Clone Jutsu!" Midori said.

They both laughed and hugged each other. Kamichi was overjoyed that he had at least one friend who really liked him. He was starting to get used to Midori's smothering, and thought it was okay, considering how much she liked him. Kamichi never asked for this kind of love from anyone, but he sort of liked it now.

But...he still felt as lonely as ever without the Kingpin Kunais around. He shut down the mind portal that allowed Haku, Zabuza, and Tarina come into his dreams, and he wasn't sure how to put it back together. Besides, Haku probably got them suspended for fighting Kamichi.

He didn't even know this girl Midori that much, but it was something close to temporary 'love'. Maybe his relationship with her would get stronger, and he could forget about his past. But...maybe 'maybe' wasn't the right word. It was more unlikely that he would ever forget the people who taught him that ever so difficult term called 'friendship'.

_**...2 Hours Later...**_

_**...Back At The Kingpin Kunais' Hideout...**_

"Pretty good! It's coming along great, Hikaru. Just a little bit more concentration, though, okay?" Omari instructed, eyeing the five clones Hikaru had managed to make. "You just have to nail the right hair color, and you've got it."

"Oh, it's no use..." Hikaru sulked, head down. "I forget all that Tarina's taught me, and I know nothing about my own Kekkei Genkai. Ever since the Midnight Demon left me, I've felt so weak."

"Hikaru..." Omari looked into his wobbly eyes. "Please. Just once more. I know you can do it." She pleaded softly.

"Okay. Just once more." Hikaru took a deep breath and made a shaky hand sign. "Water Clone Jutsu!"

There was many clones separating from his body. Suprising both of them, about ten clones appeared this time.

They were all shimmering, blue, and gooey. Hikaru had no clue what was wrong with them.

"Aww...I couldn't do it..." Hikaru sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "I...I..."

Omari tried to stifle her laugh, covering her mouth with one hand, looking at the gooey, messy blobs. "Hikaru..." She managed to squeak. "Maybe...you're trying to hard..." She knew she couldn't supress her laughter much longer. She found the look on Hikaru's sorry face hilarious. It was so sad, yet so dumbfounded.

"What...? Shouldn't you be angry at me for what I did?" Hikaru asked.

"No. Like I said, you're just trying way too hard. Those...things...you made were a result of you being so nervous and concentrated that your chakra turned into a jelly-like substance. This...is what came out. Maybe you should give the Water Clone Jutsu a rest."

"Yeah...maybe I should..." Hikaru sighed, settling his eyebrows in a relaxed yet tired manner.

_You don't like him. You DON'T like him! YOU DON'T LIKE HIM!! _Omari was silently screaming at herself. She really didn't, but...

"Hey, Hikaru. Why don't you take a little rest? You've been training for a long time now. You can continue later. Okay?" Omari said.

"Yeah." Hikaru nodded. Suddenly, he realized something. He hung his head. "Oh."

"What?"

"Oh, it's nothing..." Hikaru looked up, weakly and innocently smiling.

"What?!" Omari pleaded. "Tell me."

"Y'know...today's October 30th and all, and..." Hikaru started twiddling his thumbs.

Omari sighed and smiled back. "I know, I know. It's that time of year. Tomorrow's Halloween, and you want to have fun. I get it." She nodded.

"Yeah..." Hikaru said, faintly remembering how much fun he had terrorizing the whole village and pranking practically everyone he knew.

"I'll tell you what," Omari crossed her arms, still smiling in spite of herself. "If you can show me at least one jutsu by 6:00 tonight, then I'll let you have the entire day off tomorrow to do whatever you want. And the jutsu has to be absolutley perfect." Maybe she should give the kid a break. The last few weeks for him were brutal, after all.

"Really?" Hikaru's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Omari! I'm actually starting to like you now!" He laughed. It was sort of a lie, since he had loved Omari all his life. But, Omari probably understood what he meant by that.

"That's good to know." Omari just kept smiling. "Well, come in for a little rest now. Then, you can go back to your training and we'll see what you can do later. Got that?"

"Sure!" Hikaru said excitedly, dashing into the hideout as fast as possible. He knew he had to be perfect today to get the day off to scare the stuffing out of people tomorrow.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

Toshiro glared at Kamichi and Midori from afar, who were sitting down together on the living room couch by themselves, just talking while a movie was playing on the television. Leaving Midori and Kamichi alone together was like leaving five squirming children crawling around nearby an empty elevator shaft. Too dangerous. He had been hiding out in the air vent, which was not designed for a twelve-and a half-year-old boy. He was almost afraid that he'd pass out from the limited space and his own body heat enclosed in the tight space, and so he knew he couldn't stay in there for long.

Toshiro felt like an old overprotective father watching over some suspicious boy named Kamichi and his daughter, but this was how it had to be. He could get special information from their conversation, after all.

"Eavesdropping Justu!" Toshiro whispered furiously, making a few quick hand signs. His devious special technique could steal any jutsu and replace it with one of his own. It was part of his Kekkei Genkai, and he knew how to use it well. The knowledge of the hand signs between Kamichi and Toshiro had been switched about a week ago, although Toshiro wasn't even sure of what jutsu he had given Kamichi. He was in such a hurry while Kamichi was sleeping that he didn't pay attention, and he had never bothered to try all of his jutsus yet to see which one it was. It was suprising that Kamichi didn't already notice that his Eavesdropping Justu had been stolen away from him.

This was actually the first time Toshiro had actually used the justu. His ears suddenly and automatically perked up as he picked up ever sound that was going on in the room. And it wasn't even too loud, either. He could hear everything just perfectly. He could even hear Midori and Kamichi's steady heartbeat as well as their breathing. But, Toshiro only cared about what they were saying. It might give him a hint of why Kamichi was so cool to Midori, giving him ideas of how to improve himself.

"So...Kamichi...how many squads have you been in the past? Y'know, altogether?" Midori was asking Kamichi.

"Um..." Kamichi seemed stumped. "Well, I was on a mini-squad while becoming a ninja before, so I guess that counts. And...I was on two regular squads after that."

"I sure wouldn't Kingpin Kunais a regular squad..." Midori snorted. "You seriously don't know how lucky you were to even MEET them! I would probably die of excitement if I ever got the chance to meet one of them."

_What?! Kamichi was on the Kingpin Kunais squad?!! But...but how?! When?! How could this be?! I...I can NEVER top something like that! How lucky is this kid?! _Toshiro silently screamed in his head. He could explode with envy right about now. _Darn you, Kamichi!!_

Kamichi smiled and blushed. "Really, they're just like you and me. Completley normal rogue ninja."

Toshiro could tell that Midori could explode with laughter, knowing how much she loved his smile. He really hoped that they wouldn't kiss soon. He could hear both Midori and Kamichi's hearts starting to flutter and beat faster in embarassment and love.

Midori was blushing as well as Kamichi, which made Toshiro mad. He had never managed to make Midori blush like that before...

Toshiro's mind began to wander, and he wasn't even paying attention to their conversation. He knew all he needed to know now...

After a few seconds, he started to hear some other sounds. His ears perked up and picked up the sound instantly, although he sure didn't want them to. They were _kissing! _Toshiro slapped his hands to his ears, wanting to throw up for hearing the gross kissing ten times as good as Midori and Kamichi could.

"Oh, gosh! Oh, EW! That sounds SO gross!" Toshiro whispered in disgust, maybe a bit too loudly. He hated wet sounds like that. It sounded like a two-year-old drooling and sucking on a big cherry lollipop.

Kamichi and Midori instantly pulled away from each other, looking around. "Is...is someone there?" They nervously asked in unison.

Toshiro instantly panicked, trying to squirm backwards through the air vent, but it was no use. His body had somehow swelled or something since the heat in there was so bad. He felt too big to be in there all of a sudden. He suddenly heard a tiny crack from underneath him. It turned out that he was too heavy as well for the tiny air vent. "Uh-oh..."

"Yaaaaaahhh!!" Toshiro screamed as he fell through the air vent and toppled onto the living room floor.

"Yaaaaaahhh!!" Midori and Kamichi screamed, jumping back in suprise.

"...Ouch." Toshiro mumbled, rubbing his head and standing up. "That hurt..." He gasped as he looked at Kamichi and Midori, who were staring in shock.

"T-Toshiro??" Midori gasped, standing up with Kamichi. "What in the world...?"

"Don't worry..." Toshiro glanced nervously at the shaken Midori and the wary Kamichi. "There's a good explanation for why I fell through the air vent."

"But you- uh...but-...he-...did you...?" Midori started frantically pointing in all directions, seeming like she had no clue what just happened. "Were you just...listening to us?"

"NO! No! Uh...I would never do that to you guys!" Toshiro babbled. "You see, a few hours ago, my paper airplane flew through one of the bars leading to the vent, and so I wanted it back and I didn't want it to...uh...y'know, back up the air vent! So I decided to go in there and look for it."

"Oh. Good." Midori sighed, pretending to be relieved. Toshrio could tell she was embarassed. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, she excused herself from the room and ran into the bathroom.

"Mm-hm." Kamichi was glaring straight at Toshiro. He wasn't stupid. "Sure. Good thing you _weren't _spying and listening in on us." He aid slowly.

Toshrio was tempted to go over and punch Kamichi, but he didn't. "Shut up."

"Dude, what is your problem?" Kamichi shrugged. "I don't get it."

"Why can't you just back off?"

"How can I?! She's attached to me. I never asked for her love!" Kamichi exclaimed. "I would never do something like that to you on purpose. You're my leader and I respect you."

Toshiro was almost touched by Kamichi's statement, but the anger in his heart easily won over. "You...you're too young to have Midori as your girlfriend anyway! She's twelve!"

Kamichi shrugged again. "So, what? I turn twelve on November 3rd, and she turned twelve in late September. Just...listen to me. I know how you feel about Midori, and if there was a way I could help you with your Midori problem, then I would. But there's not. I'm not even interested in girls yet!"

"What! How could you say that when you were kissing her just five minutes ago?!"

"I really don't know..." Kamichi admitted. "But I DO know that you care about her more than I do. I mean, I really like Midori, but I know you liked her from the start. But there's nothing that I can do."

"Yes, there is. Just show Midori the JERK that you really are and she'll push you away in no time at all!" Toshiro growled.

"Jerk?!"

"Yeah!"

"How exactly am I a jerk?!"

"Just because!!" Toshiro cried. "You're like, the perfect kid. And perfect people are complete and utter JERKS!"

"How am I perfect?! Where are you even going with this?!" Kamichi angrily asked.

"You're smart, good-looking, _and _strong. And you somehow capture Midori's heart _after _you quit the super-famous Kingpin Kunais squad! You're not even a stuck-up person after all that you gained during your life so far! You don't call that perfect?!" Toshiro cried. He knew he shouldn't be picking on Kamichi. Kamichi wasn't even snobby, but Toshiro still felt the need to hate him.

"If you had any idea of what my past was like, then you would understand that I'm not perfect." Kamichi said quietly and smoothly. "And, that's all I'm going to tell you."

Toshiro wished he had just cut to the chase instead of saying all of those bad things. Now, he was as curious as ever. Maybe if he had been a bit nicer, he could have learned more. But for now, he just glared at Kamichi. "Yeah. Whatever."

Kamichi started to walk away, trying to brush past Toshiro, who was right in his way of leaving the room.

Toshiro grabbed his upper arm and punched it. Hard. "And there's alot more where that came from!" He growled into Kamichi's ear as Kamichi winced in pain. Toshiro threw him on the floor.

"Wait! What are you- heeeyy!!" Kamichi cried out as Toshiro pounced on him.

"Hahahahah!" Toshiro cackled. "You're MINE, now!!" He yelled as he raised his fist above Kamichi's face.

Kamichi caught the punch, then tackled Toshiro to the ground, pinning him. "You don't want to mess with me!"

Toshiro kicked Kamichi off of him and grabbed his emotionless rival's shirt collar and raised his fist again. "Well, I think I do!"

"Go ahead and punch me. We'll see how soon Midori finds out about this." Kamichi challenged nonchalantly.

"What?! Ew! You little ratty tattletale! I can't believe you'd run to your girlfriend just because I hit you! Little baby!"

"I don't even have to tell. She'll know. I mean, who else would Midori suspect? Like you said, I'm _perfect_. Midori likes me to be _perfect. _She'll hunt down whoever gave me a black eye right away."Kamichi said boldly. "But, if you really want to, then go ahead. We'll fight if you want to."

Toshiro summoned as much chakra as possible, then punched Kamichi in the stomach as hard as he possibly could. "How does THAT feel?!"

"Ow-...ouch..." Kamichi winced, gently placing a hand on his stomach. He started to moan.

"It's really a wonder how such a little squirt like you ended up on the Kingpin Kunais squad!" Toshiro raised his eyebrow, putting his hands on his hips.

"Just...just shut up about that! You don't understand what I went through!" Kamichi yelled, standing up along with Toshiro. "After doing the things I did, I'm really not in the mood to start a fight with my own leader!"

Toshiro's eye twitched. He still had his hands on his hips, not responding.

"Please, Toshiro! Stop trying to fight with me! It's rediculous!" Kamichi glared up at the taller boy. He shoved past him and started to walk torwards his room. "Besides, you're too much of a punk to really fight me." He chuckled cruelly as he walked to his room and shut the door. He had never known himself to be so mean or tough-acting, but it was worth it. Either be tough, or be pummeled by your leader.

"What!? That little..." Toshiro wanted to strangle Kamichi at the time, but suddenly couldn't find the guts to stand up for himself.

...Maybe Kamichi was right...

"He's still a loser, though..." Toshiro mumbled as he stomped in the other direction, back to his own room.

_**...Turn To The Next Chapter (if it's there yet)!!!...**_

_**Okay, okay...we all know that this chapter was a bit mushy and romance-ey. The Midori plus Kamichi thing is kind of...sweet, but it's kind of weird how Midori's coming on too strong with the kissing stuff. I dunno, what do you think? THIS IS WHERE YOUR REVIEW COMES IN, SILLY!**_

_**ALSO!!! Don't make assumptions about Hikaru and Omari. It's not for sure that Omari likes him. Her feelings for him are totally mixed between him not killing Kamichi, him becomin a human again and acting nicer, and the fact that Kamichi's gone from the team for good. She really doesn't know what to say to him anymore, which probably caused her blush. So, I don't want anyone screaming, "WHY DID U DO THAT?!!! HIKARU AND OMARI IS SOOOO GROSS!" No. Don't. Omari still loves Haku, but like Hikaru said, "You can't marry a ghost."**_

_**AND BESIDES, I'M THE ONE WHO LOVES HAKU DEEPLY!!! glomps plushie OMARI BETTER STAY AWAY, NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!**_

_**LOL!! Jk...not really. Okay, I'm done messing with you. (NOT) By the way, I've actually made a comic of Omari and I fighting over 'who loves Haku the most'. I won, because I drew out me changing the story and her poofing off to some other place at a diffeent time. Then, Haku showed up. At the end, I put "AUTHOR'S RULE!" 'Cause we do.**_

_**OMG!!! IT'S ANOTHER CHARACTER'S PROFILE!!!! O.O**_

_**Name: Omari.**_

_**Age: 15 years old.**_

_**Was Born In: She's not entirley sure. Tarina somehow knows, but will probably **_

_**never tell Omari about her early childhood.**_

_**Current Village: The Hidden Mist Village (but mostly **_

_**is found in the outskirts of the Land of Waves)**_

_**Eye Color: Dark Brown.**_

_**Hair Color: Black.**_

_**Occupation: Jonin/Rogue Ninja**_

_**Squad: The Kingpin Kunais**_

_**Is Known For: Her Sensitive Side and Kekkei Genkai.**_

_**Favorite Color: Blue**_

_**Bandanna Color: Blue...**_

_**Quote: "That's good to know."**_

_**Goals: Wants to become a really good leader like Tarina, and become a**_

_**well-known Hidden Mist rogue ninja.**_

_**Likes: Everyone on her squad, and Haku and Zabuza.**_

_**Dislikes: Anyone who stands in her way or messes with**_

_**people she loves.**_

_**Favorite Weapon: The Crystal Ice Kunai...**_

_**Least Favorite Weapon: She doesn't like the Blood Kunai and is too clumsy with shuriken.**_

_**Number 1 Habit: Chakra Leakage from her hand (whenever she gets too nervous or excited).**_

_**Would Love To Fight: Naruto and the rest of Squad 7, or the Mizukage.**_

_**Looks Up To The Most: Tarina.**_

_**Favorite Food: She really doesn't have one...o.o**_

_**Least Favorite Food: Ramen (O.O)**_

_**Has A Crush On: She loves Haku very much and all, but she knows**_

_**she could never marry him or see him much. Hikaru doesn't have much**_

_**hope, but he's really trying hard to appeal to her...so, just maybe.**_

_**Number 1 impossible Wish: That Kamichi could come back to her, or**_

_**that the Kingpin Kunais just could have stuck with the original five people in it (basically to go back in time).**_


	24. The Lonely Remedy: 2: Halloween Hassle!

_**...The Lonely Remedy: 2: Halloween Hassle!!...**_

_**AHEM!! I have no comments at the beginning of the chappie, but I must say this may be the LONGEST CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF LONG CHAPTERS. So have a mug of coffee or at least a juicebox on the spot if you are a slower reader or fall asleep easily. It's a somewhat exciting chapter. I mean, it wont make you jump out of your computer chairs, whether they are spinning or not (I know that did not make any sense). It's...OH, JUST READ THE CHAPTER!!**_

_**HAPPY READING!!!!**_

_**...The Next Day...**_

"Good afternoon, Kamichi." A voice said neutrally, poking at him softly. "Hey. Get outta bed. You have to get ready now. C'mon, it's almost-"

"Huh?!" Kamichi poked his head out of his blankets and looked up to see Masakaru's stern face next to his. "Wha...what time is it?"

"It's Halloween, and it's almost three-thirty in the afternoon." Masakaru said smoothly, running his hand through his spiked dark purple hair and giving him a look of disapproval. "You sleep too much."

"What?! Three thirty?! Oh...I'm...I'm sorry." Kamichi slowly sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. He didn't know. He had slept like a baby throughout the night because he had decided to go to bed so late. He had stayed up by himself untill about five-thirty in the morning doing hardly anything, then passed out on his bed. Now he felt guilty and quite lazy for staying in bed so late.

"It's okay. Just...get dressed into something besides your pajamas." Masakaru ordered, but not in a mean tone.

"Why?" Kamichi just looked at him.

"Because we have stuff to do later tonight." Masakaru replied.

"What 'stuff'?" Kamichi asked suspiciously.

"Stuff. Now, get outta bed. Please."

Kamichi followed Masakaru's orders, getting dressed, brushing his hair and teeth, and later joined the others gathered in the living room, sitting down next to Kouki on a couch without thinking. But, Midori didn't seem to mind. He looked around at his teammates, not knowing what was going on. It was just Halloween, after all. "Hey...you guys. What's going on?"

Toshiro smirked. "It's _Halloween_. We always follow our _Halloween_ tradition..."

"Huh? What tradition?" Kamichi asked nervously. He didn't like the way Toshiro said that.

"Um...it's when we...um..." Kouki started to say, catching Midori's hostile glare that was practically screaming, _"Don't talk to him!"_. But, she ignored that. Midori was just being overprotective of her love. "Well, we go at around six-thirty. We're dressed really freaky, and then we go and raid another squad. Then we come back here and do...other fun stuff, like prank-calling people."

"Raid another squad?!" Kamichi asked in shock. "What?! What does that mean?! What're you supossed to do?" He didn't like the sound of that. Kamichi didn't have a problem with prank-calling or any of that other fun kid stuff, but he did have a problem with what was coming up at six-thirty.

Before Kouki could get the chance to even open her mouth, Midori jumped in. "It's when we sneak in and scare them half to death, destroy some of their stuff, and...well, do anything else to hurt them." She shrugged. "It sounds wrong, but it's fun. But we only do it to squads that bother us alot."

"But still!" Kamichi cried. "You could hurt somebody! How would you guys all like it if some squad barged into your hideout, destroyed it, then beat the stuffing out of you?!"

"That would never happen." Toshiro said smoothly. "We're not weak like that."

"But-" Kamchi started.

"No 'buts'." Masakaru said. "We're sorry if it just doesn't appeal to you, but it's what we do. I mean, you should join in with us, but if you're _really_ that chicken, then I guess you could stay here."

"Yeeeeaahh...don't be a _punk, _Kamichi..." Toshiro quibbled to Kamichi from the other side of the room with a big grin on his face.

Kamichi sighed. "Fine...whatever. I'll...I'll do it. But...which squad is it?"

"I wouldn't assume you know them..." Masakaru replied. "We're after Squad 99."

_What!? Squad 99?! I was on that squad! Ryo!! _"Um...no. I've...never heard of them!" He said quickly, sweat dripping down his forehead. He remembered his promise made to Ryo as he left for the Kingpin Kunais. He had promised that the next time they met, Kamichi would be a better person. He gulped. "But...I don't understand...why would you go after _them?_"

"Because." Toshiro shrugged. "We just want to."

"But...they're not that bad!" Kamichi protested.

"I thought you said you didn't know them." Masakaru said with a confused look on his face.

"I don't! It's just that..." Kamichi started. "What did they ever do to you?! Why _them?!_"

"Because they're pathetic and weak little crybabies, and we just don't like them. Those rogue ninja wannabes are so annoying, I just want to crush all of those pipsqueaks into dust!" Toshiro said while crumpling a peice of white paper into a ball and tossing it aside.

Kamichi flinched. "Uh...uh...but..."

Toshiro crossed his arms. "Well...we're gonna start to get ready for it right now. Are you in, or are you out?"

"I..." Kamichi stared at his leader sadly. He really didn't want to hurt the squad he had once been in for years.

"Well?! Give me an answer." Toshiro demanded, smirking. He knew how much of a softy Kamichi could be.

"I'm in."

_**...Back At The Kingpin Kunais' Hideout...**_

"I'm BORED..." Slicer whined to his ceiling, tossing a multicolored bouncy ball up in the air and catching it. He had been laying on his bed for over an hour, pondering on what he could do next to occupy him.

"I'm bored, too." Zamu said from the other side of the room. "But, there's nothing we can do about that. We're not assigned on any missions today. We just have to put up with it. It's Halloween. We've never gotten any missions on this day."

"I HATE it!" Slicer cried, shooting the bouncy ball across the room. It bonked off of Zamu's head, making him turn slightly.

Zamu smiled. "I hate it, too."

Zamu and Slicer had seemed to find a way to recover from the loss of their beloved teammate, Kamichi. For some weird reason, they knew that they would bump into him sooner or later. By looking forward to that, they weren't as depressed as Omari.

"And then, we have to put up with the exact same thing for the holidays, which aren't too far away! It's terrible! What are we supposed to do for fun?!"

Zamu shrugged. "I don't know."

Slicer sat up from his bed slightly. "What if we went trick-or-treating?"

"We're not kids anymore, Slicer." Zamu sighed in disapproval. "Besides, we would get caught. People can recognize our faces by now. If we went door-to-door facing people and asking for stuff, we'd be caught within two minutes."

"That's why you dress up."

"Slicer, nobody's gonna want to give candy to two full-grown men! Halloween's basically for kids and young adults _only_." Zamu said.

"I suppose you're right..." Slicer sighed sadly. "I just really wish we had something to do..."

Zamu started to feel a little sympathy for Slicer. "Well...I could go to the movies with you if you want. I'm sure they have a good scary movie on or something." He suggested. Zamu really wasn't one to watch too many horror movies, but he knew Slicer couldn't resist.

"Well...okay!" Slicer said with glee. "It'll be so much fun!! We'll get the front seats in the scariest movie that's out!"

"But what about Omari?" Zamu asked. "Maybe we should ask her if she wants to come with us."

"Nah. I asked her if she wanted to join in if we were going to do anything tonight. She said she'd just rather stay here for the night."

_**...Meanwhile...**_

Hikaru didn't succeed in his test. He made a bunch of really good clones, but they turned into puddles of water in two seconds flat. He just couldn't do it.

But Omari decided to let him go anyway.

Omari now lay on her bed, skimming through her big photo album. It was all she had left of her past. She smiled slightly as she remembered a Halloween night a few years ago. Haku, Kamichi, Tarina, and Zabuza had been there at the time. It was probably the most fun she had ever had.

She flipped backwards in the book, looking back at when they were the original Kingpin Kunais. Tarina, Omari, Zamu, Slicer, and Hikaru. When they were a peaceful squad, it had been fun, even though the peaceful times didn't last long. She giggled as she saw a picture of little Hikaru, looking as grumpy as could be.

She flipped a few more years back, looking at Tarina, Zamu, and Slicer when they were all about eight years old. Those were additions to Omari's photo album that Tarina had made herself. They weren't the Kingpin Kunais yet. They were just really close friends. Omari lightly chuckled. They all looked so happy and adorable as kids.

She sighed sadly as she shut the book, slid it under her bed, and turned onto her back. She felt so weak and sad lately. She felt as if she shouldn't be the Kingpin Kunais leader. Tarina would always be Omari's true leader, though. A better one.

Tarina wouldn't let her feelings get to her, like Omari did. Considering all that Tarina has been through, Omari now found it shocking that Tarina could always find room to laugh or make the best out of things. Omari wished she could be like that.

Halloween used to be Omari's favorite day of the year. Now, that her true team wasn't complete, she didn't feel like going anywhere or doing anything with anybody. She was just in a sulky mood. She turned on her side, as bored as ever. She could go and do something fun, but her heart woul ache even more. She wished Kamichi were here. Kamichi was always the one who wanted to cheer her up.

_"Raaaaaawwrrboogalooga!!!" _Hikaru popped out from nowhere in Omari's room with an excellent vampire costume and makeup job put on his body, even though the costume didn't look done just yet. It was obvious he had used alot of hair gel to hold his hair in such a crazy form. He had also used fake clood and powder for his face and hands.

Omari didn't even flinch. She turned to look at him, smiling sarcastically. "Ooou, scary."

"You don't think it's good enough?"

"I think it's great. I just knew you were going to do that." Omari shrugged, sitting up in bed.

"Oh." Hikaru looked disappointed.

"Also, I dont think the '_raaaaaawwrrboogalooga_'s gonna cut it when it comes to scaring people." Omari couldn't help smiling.

"I'm working on it." Hikaru said.

"So...what exactly do you have in mind for tonight?" Omari asked him out of pure curiosity.

"Unlike some of the other sick, immature squads, I'm not going to raid other people's hideouts. That's for sure." Hikaru said truthfully. He had always wanted to do it when he was little, but never got around to it. Now, it just seems wrong.

"They raid other squads?" Omari asked in shock. She never knew about this.

"Yeah." Hikaru said with an angered look on his face. "Some young squads target their enemies for Halloween. They raid the hideout by stealing their stuff, destroying the entire place, then beat them untill their half-dead. It's gruesome. Sometimes it even ends up in a victim's death."

"That's horrible!!" Omari whispered in shock. After a few seconds, she recovered from what Hikaru had just explained to her. "So, what _are _you going to do tonight?"

"Just pop out of bushes and scare people." Hikaru shrugged. "I might do a bit of trick-or-treating by myself. Then again, I could just take people's candy without asking, and then run away. But usually, you get the best from knocking door-to-door."

"Sounds fun." Omari smiled faintly.

"Oh, it will be..." Hikaru grinned. Then he gave her a more questioning look. "If it sounds so fun, then why don't you come with me? You're not too old or anything. I mean, why not? We could have fun together..."

Omari didn't like how he said the word _together. _It made her shiver. "Nah, thanks. I'm good." It just seemed too much like a date to go anywhere with Hikaru. Omari knew she was being super-fussy about the situation, and she didn't want to make Hikaru feel bad, but she just couldn't go with him.

"But why?"

"I don't have a costume or anything..." Omari said, even though it would be as easy as pie to make something up. "And besides, I really don't feel up to it. I'm sorry, but I feel a bit too sad to have much fun tonight." She quickly added, seeing the let-down look on Hikaru's face worsen, knowing that Omari was trying to make an excuse so she didn't have to go anywhere with him.

"Omari..." Hikaru said softly, nodding slightly. "It's okay. I get it. I feel that way, too, sometimes. Do you want me to bring you back anything?"

"Um..." Omari could at least be remotely interested in what he was doing. "Sure."

"You like chocolate bars?"

"Yes, Hikaru. Thank you." Omari said politely.

"Mm-hm..." Hikaru said, smiling because Omari was actually paying a bit of attention to him for once. It felt like he was on a mission now. To bring back a chocolate bar for Omari to please her. "Okay. Anything else?"

"No, thanks. I'm fine. I'm just going to get some sleep now..." Omari sighed, laying her head down on her soft pink pillow and staring up at the ceiling.

"Alright...well, I'm going to finish up my costume. Bye, Omari." Hikaru said. He wanted to kiss her cheek more than anything, but he knew that it would gross her out. Especially after the kiss he had gotten while taking over Haku's ghost-body. It would bring back too many memories. He slowly walked out of the room.

"Bye, Hikaru."

_**...2 Hours Later...**_

_**...Back At Squad 101's Hideout...**_

Kouki now lay on her bed with a good book planted in front of her face. She hadn't dressed up just yet, unlike everyone else, but she knew she could just throw on her costume any time now. They were leaving in less than a half an hour, even though it wasn't that dark yet.

Kouki flinched as she heard a noisy, angry knock at the door, somehow making her whole room vibrate. She already knew who it was. "Come in, Midori."

Midori burst open the door, then shut it as she entered.

_Woah. She seems mad. It's weird that she's waited so long to confront me... _Kouki thought calmly as Midori stomped over to her with a hostile look in her eyes.

"Can I help you, Midori?" Kouki asked neutrally.

"Yes. You can." Midori sat down angrily next to her, snatched Kouki's book, and tossed it away. She crossed her arms. "You can help me by telling me what you were thinking back there when you were talking to Kamichi!"

"Nothing. I wasn't thinking anything. He asked a question, and so I answered it."

"What if he wasn't asking _you? _What if he was asking Toshiro? Or _me? _Huh? Why'd you have to be so quick to answer him?!" Midori demanded.

"I wasn't trying to be quick to answer him. Where are you going with this?!" Kouki asked nervously.

Midori tackled her younger teammate to her bed and pinned her. "You like Kamichi, don't you?!"

"What!? No! I-...I don't like him!" Kouki desperatley squeaked out underneath Midori's hands, which were purposely crushing her body.

Midori slapped her. Hard. Kouki flinched. How could such a dainty-acting fru-fru girl be so mean? "Midori, why do you always have to be such a bully? I didn't do anything! I said, I don't like him!"

"Typical eleven-year-old girl." Midori growled at her. "Always lying to her leader, yet knowing that her leader can make her life miserable in a heartbeat."

"You're not the boss of me!" Kouki bravely said back without considering the consequences.

"Excuse me?!" Midori's fist suddenly turned a radioactive green. She raised it over Kouki's face.

"N-nothing!" Kouki giggled nervously. "I didn't mean anything. I swear. I-I'm sorry! Really! Just...put it down!" She pleaded quickly. Midori had punched her before with that dreaded fist, and it had wasn't pleasant. For some reason, Kouki had never felt so scared of Midori in her life. Kouki knew that this was different than any other time, though. This was Midori's crush.

"That's what I thought." Midori didn't hit her, but her fist was still raised and covered in radioactive energy. "I'm ranked second in this squad, and you're ranked fourth. That's never going to change. You got that?!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Try challenging my position, and you're dead. Got it?" Midori asked, but in a smooth, cooing tone.

"Yes! Just let me go! Please!!" Kouki pleaded, disgusted with herself all the while. She knew she should never let someone rule over her life like this, but Midori was more dangerous than she looked. Kouki knew that if she really set her mind to it, she could maybe teach Midori a lesson someday. Maybe even steal her position as second-in command. But, there was something about those eyes that made Kouki scared for her life.

But maybe...maybe now was the time to stand up for herself.

"Now, tell me right now. Are you in love with Kamichi?" Midori asked her.

"I really wished Kamichi was in here right now." Kouki said breathlessly. "To see how you really treat people." Her heart started thumping double-time as soon as she said this.

Midori merely snorted. "This isn't how I treat people. This is only how I treat _you. _And you're nobody. You're just a worthless little kid. Now, answer the question." She demanded.

"No!"

"What!?"

"You heard me! I said, NO, Midori! Now just leave me alone!" Kouki cried, tears forming in her eyes.

"No, I wont leave you alone. Answer the question or that lovely little face of yours gets broken in half. Are you in love with my Kamichi? You have to tell me everything." Midori told her. "And this is your last chance to answer."

"I..." Kouki started.

"NOW. And if you lie, you'll just get in even more trouble than you already are in right now." Midori said.

"Midori, think about this!" Kouki exclaimed. "Don't you think you're going too far?! All because I said two words to the guy!?"

"You sat down next to him!"

"What?! _He_ sat down next to _me_! And he just woke up, too! He was probably groggy. He didn't know what he was doing." Kouki said.

"Ooh, so now you're defending him?" Midori questioned. "You must like him."

"MIDORI!!" Kouki exploded. "Just shut up!! You're taking this too seriousl-" She gagged as Midori punched her right in the middle of her stomach, getting her right in the spot where she felt she could throw up any second. And the radioactive sheild wasn't making anything better, either.

"Now," Midori said softly, "I want you to answer my question. Do you like Kamichi? Tell me the truth, and I wont hurt you. But, if you lie or fail to tell me, then my fist is going right down your throat."

"Okay..." Kouki moaned, finally giving in. "I'll tell you what I think of your boyfriend. Just...let go of me. Please...I'll really throw up..."

"Fine." Midori pulled her fist away, automatically decontaminating it. She sat up and crossed her arms. "Talk."

"Listen, Midori I...I don't like him as much as you do. I sort of like him and I think he's really, really nice, but...I don't _love _him, if you know what I mean." Kouki began.

"Mm-hm. Continue."

"I didn't know what I was thinking when I spoke to him, and I really didn't mean to upset you or anything. I would never try to do that to you. I mean...I like him a bit and think he's kind of cute but I wouldn't ask him out or anything..." Kouki said nervously, trying to tell as much of the truth as possible.

Midori was still glaring at her, but was quite pleased with herself for being able to squeeze any information out of Kouki. "Good. I don't care if you have a crush on him, but you had _better_ stay away." She stood from Kouki's bed.

"...O-okay." Kouki quivered.

Kouki cried out as Midori suddenly punched her right in the face. It was without the radioactive sheild, but it still hurt. "And if I _ever_ catch you near him again, there will be more where that came from." Midori reached in her pocket to flash Kouki her Radioactive Kunai, one of the closest things possible to a real Ultra Kunai.

Maybe the Radioactive Kunai was what made her so dangerous...

"Y-y-yes, ma'am..." Kouki whimpered, putting her trembling hand to her throbbing right eyelid, silently cursing Midori for being so mean. _If...if I could just get rid of her weapon...maybe, just maybe I could challenge her someday._

Midori smiled. "Good. I'm glad you see it my way. Now, Kouki, we've got a long night ahead of us. You should be getting ready now." She said, patting Kouki's back and walking out of the room. "Toodle-oo!"

_**...Fifteen Minutes Later...**_

"Hey, Kouki..." Kamichi lightly tapped Kouki's shoulder. "What...what happened to your eye? It looks awful."

Kouki shuddered as she sensed Midori's presence from across the room. "I just bumped into something." She said as emotionlessly and as quickly as possible. She stepped away from Kamichi, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"You okay?" Kamichi asked with concern, reaching out for her. He didn't like the way she was acting all of a sudden. Something was definatley up, and Kamichi wanted to know. Even though he didn't trust Kouki, he still felt bad that she got a black eye.

Kouki mumbled something about her being okay, then sat down on the living room couch, grabbed the nearest newspaper and had her eyes glued to it. She started to sweat when she realized that Kamichi was still staring at her worriedly.

After a few moments, Kamichi took his eyes away from her. She obviously wanted to be left alone. He went over to Midori, who simply smiled at him. "Is Kouki okay?"

"Oh, her? Yeah, she's okay. Don't worry about her..." Midori said, who was dressed like a murdering freak (but managed to still look good). She had two dashes of black makeup across her cheeks, along with the rest of the team.

"Oh...okay." Kamichi said, scratching his now messy, purple head of hair and sitting down next to Midori on the rug.

Toshiro walked into the room, followed by Masakaru. Toshiro was dressed the scariest. He had two long swords strapped to his back and heavy black eyeshadow under his eyes. He had powdered his face and streaked his ragged clothes with fake blood. His normal, light orange hair was now sprayed silver and black. "Hey, you guys. Are you ready?"

"Yes," All except for Kamichi replied loyally.

_No, _Kamichi thought sadly. _I'm not ready to destroy my old hideout and hurt the kids in it. It just seems so wrong..._

"Kamichi?" Masakaru asked.

"Huh?!" Kamichi shook himself out of a trance and looked at all of them.

"Are you ready?"

"Oh...um...yes. Yes, I am." Kamichi said nervously.

"Okay, then." Toshiro grinned. "Let's go."

_**...20 Minutes Later...**_

_**...About Half Of A Mile Away From The Kingpin Kunais' Hideout...**_

Hikaru aimlessly wandered around the forest area. He was now in the Land of Waves instead of the outskirts of the Hidden Mist Village. It was quite boring doing this by himself, but he had scared about fifteen little kids and three adults and had gotten two big handfuls of candy, now in his pockets. He had even managed to get Omari's favorite type of chocolate bar.

He was quite proud of himself.

Hikaru wished Omari could just forget about Haku. Kamichi, Hikaru could understand, but what exactly made Haku so special? How was Haku better than him? That was a better question.

It sort of aggravated Hikaru that Omari loved Haku more than him. Omari said she loved them all equally, but that might as well be a joke. She wanted to marry Haku, and she knew it.

"Omari can't marry a ghost..." Hikaru grumbled to himself. "So...she'll have to find another guy to fall in love with, and it certainly can't be Zamu or Slicer...yyyuck!" He nearly threw up at the thought. "Aah, anyway, she'll probably find some other _cool_ guy from a totally different squad. I mean, what are the odds that she would like me, of all people?" He told himself as he walked on.

Suddenly, a very peculiar, spiky-looking, dark grey bird zoomed overhead, screaming. Hikaru looked up. It was...it wasn't a bird. It was a ghost of a bird. Hikaru could just tell by it's slightly glowing skin and how fast it was moving. It was beautiful, yet so strange, considering how puffy it's head looked in some spots and it's webbed feet. It was speeding up, yet waiting for him...calling out to him...

"Ooh, what kind of bird is that supposed to be...?" Hikaru mumbled to himself, interested.

Hikaru instantly grew curious, aware of the callings. He followed the strange flying animal as fast as his legs could carry him. "Wait up! Why are you here?!" He figured a ghost such as that might be able to speak. Maybe...maybe it was some sort of signal to go somewhere. "I just want to talk! I was a ghost too, you know! Hey-"

He stopped as the bird perched itself on an upright log, and turned to stare at him. Hikaru looked around. He suddenly realized where he was. "Hey...it's a training field!" He looked around. "Hey! I recognize this part of the woods! It's near where I Iive, but at a totally different hideout! But, why did you lead me all the way back here...?" He asked the bird. Something was definatley strange about this, and his attention was one-hundred percent devoted to the situation.

The bird merely squawked.

"I...this bird...I forget what it's called..." Hikaru put his hand to his chin, stumped. "I know...I should remember the name...was it...?" Hikaru knew this _must_ be some sort of sign or note from the ghost world. Somebody was leading him somewhere, but...why this bird?

Hikaru's eyes suddenly lit up in excitement and horror. "I know what you are! The 'horned-screamer'! You're a-"

He cried out as somebody rammed into his side, pushing him right into the nearby pond. Hikaru sputtered and choked on the water. He could swim, but was too shocked to find his strength and pull himself up at the moment.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes to find himself about seven feet underwater. He saw the white and red fog in front of him, indicating that his makeup and hair-coloring was coming off of him due to the moisture. Hikaru started to kick.

_Cheap Halloween products..._

Hikaru's head broke the surface. He was gasping for air, his heart in his throat. A small, delicate-looking hand suddenly came out of nowhere, offering to help him. Hikaru took the soft hand, and he was soon helped out of the water. Hikaru let go of the hand, then looked down at who had pushed/helped him into/out of the water.

It was a girl, only about twelve years old. She was dressed like a serial killer for Halloween. Or, perhaps that was how she dressed all of the time. Hikaru wasn't sure he wanted to know. He looked at her forehead. She was wearing a pink Hidden Mist headband.

Hikaru still didn't feel safe, even though it was just a small girl from the Hidden Mist. He stepped a few feet back.

"Hello, there!" The girl cooed happily. "My name's Midori!"

"Oh...err, hi..." Hikaru waved nervously at the creepily cheery girl. "My name's-"

"I already know who _you _are, silly billy!" Midori giggled. "You're Hikaru, the one who used to be the little troublemaker of the Kingpin Kunais! You tried to destroy everything and everyone back then, but I always had a crush on you!" She grabbed him and hugged him.

"Uh..." Hikaru scratched his head, feeling quite uncomfortable. The last few turns of events were unbearably quick and puzzling. And obviously, since Midori was so young, she didn't exactly appeal to Hikaru the way she did with other guys her age.

Hikaru quickly looked around for the weirdo bird, but it was just...gone. It had disappeared from sight. Maybe it had led Hikaru to where he was supposed to be.

"Hey, kid...why did you push me into the water like that?! I could have drowned!" Hikaru snapped at Midori. He didn't care who she was (although he really didn't know). That could have killed him if he didn't know how to swim.

"I didn't know who you were at first..." Midori said sweetly, but using a whining, guilty tone all the while. "I'm sorry, Hikaru. I'm one of your biggest fans. I wouldn't have pushed you and messed up your cute costume if I had known who you were..."

"But...with the bird...and the name...who...what exactly are you doing here?" Hikaru asked the girl.

Midori just kept staring at him. She was in a trance.

"Hey, MIDORI? Hello-ooooo!? You there?!" Hikaru frantically and angrily waved his hands around in the air.

"You guys are sooo awesome..." Midori moaned, in a trance. She snapped out of it, beaming. "I can't believe you're talking to me and used my name!!" She squealed.

"_Riiight_. So...can you tell me who you're with and why you're here? I really need to know this, because this bird..." Hikaru's voice slowly trailed off.

"Eeeeekk! I love you guys so much! I love you, I love you!!" Midori practically knocked Hikaru over with a giant bear hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Uh..." Hikaru stammered, shocked. He straightened himself up and looked back at her uncomfortably. This kid just wouldn't answer his questions and leave him alone. Hikaru really hoped that Midori wasn't planning on marrying him or anything.

"You know, I really like you and think you're adorable, but...I already have a boyfriend." Midori admitted to him out of nowhere.

_What a relief..._

"His name's Kamichi. He was on the Kingpin Kunais squad before. Do you know him??" Midori asked curiously. "He's on our squad. You see, the rest of my squad is waiting for me in front of Squad 99's hideout, because they thought you were an intruder trying to attack us or something. They told me to keep you here untill they got back." She explained.

"Kamichi?! Oh, my gosh! He's here?! With you?!" Hikaru screamed. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be scared, happy, or angry. "That's IT! That bird was a kamichi!!"

"Huh?" Midori looked puzzled. "Why are you talking about _a_ kamichi? I'm talking about a _person_ _named_ Kamichi, not a bird. You should know him."

"Yeah, I do!!" Hikaru screamed. "But there was these signs! ..., and the ghost bird was a kamichi..., it was leading me here to tell me that Kamichi was around..." He rambled, hardly making any sense at all to Midori. She could only catch bits and peices of what he was babbling frantically.

"Wait a sec, Hikaru..." Midori tried to slow him down. "Just calm down for a minute. Kamichi's here and safe, if that's what you were worried about..."

"NO! You guys...you're going to raid a hideout, aren't you!?" Hikaru screamed accusingly.

"Yeah...?" Midori's uncertain response sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Noooo! That little creep! I've gotta stop him! That's totally wrong and messed up!" Hikaru brushed past Midori started running torwards Squad 99's hideout, even though he had no idea who in the world Squad 99 was.

Hikaru had to get there before it was too late. The last thing he needed was one of Omari's best friends turning into a complete, jerky ex-Mist ninja. This was for Omari...

_"Ouch!!"_

Hikaru winced and fell to the ground after feeling a sharp pain peirce his behind. Midori flipped a senbon in her hand, smiling sweetly.

"Oh, no you don't," Midori grinned. "You're staying right here with me, cutie. There's no escape untill the rest of my squad gets back. Don't worry, you'll get to see my boyfriend soon enough. But, only if you be good and try not to run away."

"Oohh-hooh..." Hikaru moaned, pulling the senbon out of him. He stood turned to her. "Doooood! What is with you?! You just shot a senbon at my- ouch!!" He cried again as another senbon went into his leg, making him stumble to the ground again. He yanked it out of him, sat up, and stared in horror at the small area of blood left on his leg by the minor wound.

Midori walked over to him and kneeled next to him. She kissed his cheek and clinged to him. She seemed really, really happy. "Shh...I'm not going to hurt you. Just as long as you shut your mouth and calm down a bit, I wont hurt you."

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"Hey!! You creep, put that down and leave us alone!" Ryo screamed as Toshiro cruelly grinned, dangling an expensive painting over the ground. "That's the sensei's! You can't have it!"

"I don't want to keep it, pipsqueak. Heh, heh...I just want to break it!" Toshiro let it fall and shatter on the floor. Then he stepped on it in a sort of a crazed manner for extra effect.

"Noooo!! This can't be happening to me!" Ryo screamed in horror. "I'm gonna die!!"

"Aaaww!! Is the poor wittle baby ascared of da older ninja?" Toshiro mocked in a little kid's voice, then laughed. "You twerps were doomed from the start." He shoved Ryo onto the ground.

"Shut up!" Ryo screamed in fury, standing back up to face his tormentor. "Leave us alone, you bullies!" Ryo had never imagined he would be the victim of a raid like this. He had always heard horrible tales of how smaller rogue ninja were always targeted on Halloween by the older kids. Ryo even knew a few people who had died in a raid by being beaten to death.

"Yaaaaaaaahh!! Get outta here, you sickos!" Slicer's mini-me jumped out from behind a toppled-over chair, charging at Toshiro with his blue nightstick at the ready.

Masakaru suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the kid by his shirt collar. "I don't think you want to do that, kid." Masakaru dragged him away to tie him up somewhere else.

"Heeeeyy! Leave Tomozaku ALONE!" Ryo screeched at the top of his lungs after Masakaru, tears forming in his eyes. "What did he ever do to you?!"

Toshiro looked over at Kamichi, who was trying not to be seen from the other side of the room. "Hey. You. Get over here and take care of this little 'hero', okay?" He pointed to Ryo, who was shaking.

"I...I can't..." Kamichi was shaking his head slightly, trembling. "I don't want to hurt him. I'm not..."

Ryo turned, and his eyes grew huge. "K-Kamichi?! Is...is that you?!" He took a step back, but bumped right into Toshiro, who was smirking down at him.

Kamichi didn't say a word.

"Oooh. I get it now..." Toshiro grinned to himself, grabbing Ryo, taking out a kunai, and holding it to his neck. "Hey, Kamichi. Is this your friend?"

Kamichi still didn't respond.

_"KAMICHI!!" _Ryo screamed, tears flowing down his face. "Don't let him hurt me! Please!!"

"Let's try this again, Kamichi." Toshiro said, trying to keep a straight face. Revenge was sweet. "Are you friends with this kid?"

Kamichi knew he would be shunned or kicked out of the squad if he admitted to being friends with the 'weaklings'. Also, Ryo could get hurt by Toshiro. He couldn't even think straight. His head was spinning. He felt sick. Toshiro had already messed with another squad member, which was a little boy who must have taken Kamichi's place when he had left for the Kingpin Kunais. He now lay on the floor in another room, knocked out cold with blood all over his face.

_Kamichi...I thought you changed... _Ryo thought sadly. _You said...you'd be a better person._

"Kamichi. I asked you a question. Now answer it." Toshiro glared right at Kamichi. "I'm asking you if you know this little dork. He seems to know your name and trust you pretty well. He thinks you can help him out here. So, I want to know if he means anything to you, and I want to know it now."

"I...no." Kamichi looked down. "I...don't know him."

Ryo gasped. _No!_

"Oh. Okay, then, Kamichi." Toshiro nodded, taking out a sword. "Then, if he doesn't mean anything to you, I suppose you wouldn't care if I did _this!_"

Kamichi's eyes instantly turned bloodshot when he saw what Toshiro did next. He heard Ryo's horrible scream throughout the entire hideout as most of his right arm was amputated from his body. As soon as he saw the blood pouring out of Ryo's arm socket, he started to scream, too.

"What's the matter, Kamichi? I thought you didn't know this kid!" Toshiro laughed maniacally. "And even if you did, who cares? He's dead meat now. Too bad for him." He shrugged.

"YOU...NOOOO!! RYO!!" Kamichi screamed, running torwards the screaming and sobbing kid. "He's just a little kid! Why are you doing this!? Why?!"

Before Kamichi could get there, Toshiro threw Ryo on the floor and stepped on him. "It's your fault, you know." He shrugged, putting the gutsy sword back into it's sheath. "Besides, I wouldn't expect you to care." With that, he bent down, reached into Ryo's pocket, and snatched up something. He put it in his pocket and left the room, off to get Masakaru and Kouki. Their work was finished here.

Kamichi was too shocked with Toshiro to respond or even curse at him. He glanced down at Ryo. He insantly turned away and vomited, starting to cry at the same time.

"Kamichi..." Ryo choked, blood starting to spill from his trembling mouth. "I thought you...said you were sorry for what you did to me in the past..." He grimaced, starting to feel the pain of his amputated arm. It had felt numb and he had been mainly screaming because the sight of his dead arm lying on the floor was absolutley shocking and unbelievable. The blood he was losing was unbearably amazing. If he didn't get help soon, then he would die.

"I know..." Kamichi sobbed. "I should have stopped him and been less of a coward. I really am sorry...I failed and hurt almost everyone I know now. I don't know what's wrong with me..."

"You need..." Ryo started, his voice starting to get angry, "...some major help. Go get some before you wipe out everyone that cares about you and actually respects you. Oh...wait, you don't have anyone like that anymore, do you? That's why you hang out with these thugs, isn't it?" His question didn't even sound like a question. It was a confident guess.

Kamichi sobbed even more. "I...can't even help _you_, Ryo...how am I supposed to get help or anything for _myself?_"

"I...don't know, Kamichi..." Ryo grunted, his throat starting to get dry despite the wet blood bubbling all around in it. He felt so dizzy, and his voice was starting to crack. "I just don't know. But I do know that you and your gang are just...going to...leave me to die here, aren't you?" His arm socket was still leaking blood and making a puddle in the floor. It had been spewing blood like a shower hose before, but it had seemed to slow down.

Life would be hard without his good arm...

If he even had a life that lasted longer than the next minute.

"I don't know!" Kamichi screamed, starting to vomit some more after looking at the bloody limb on the ground. The action done to Ryo was mainly his fault, and he felt absolutley horrible. "This...this is all my fault...I should have never tried to fight Haku. I should have accepted myself...as a weakling who had friends...friends who could help him and make him stronger."

Ryo didn't really know what he was talking about, but he knew Kamichi must have done something bad. "I knew you were a horrible person...you're a psycho, Kamichi. Just...get some help. That's all you can do. If you don't, only then do your own hands deserve to be cut off..." Ryo fell silent, starting to close his eyes...fe felt dizzy...Kamichi's image was fading fast.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Ryo. I'm...I'm just sorry, okay?" Kamichi cried in a pleading tone, falling next to him, soaking himself in blood.

"What...ever..." Ryo whispered hoarsely as his eyes closed for the last time.

Kamichi just kept on crying.

_**...Back Outside of Squad 99's Hideout...**_

"You guys are CREEPS! Sick little creeps! I can't believe you would do this! I can't believe Kamichi would do this!" Hikaru screamed desperatley. He had tried to escape from Midori's clutches at least ten times. Midori had restrained him every time, resulting in Hikaru's arms being scratched up and his clothes being tattered.

"_You're_ calling _us _sick little creeps?" Midori asked in suprise, raising an eyebrow. She had to resort to pinning Hikaru to the ground and making him stay there. It took all of her strength to hold him back. "What about the time when you-"

"Forget about what I did! You guys still have your whole lives ahead of you that haven't been emotionally destroyed yet!" Hikaru yelled.

"How do you know?" Midori growled, eyes trembling. She was getting quite fed up with Hikaru now. He didn't know anything about what they had been through. "Maybe the things we do result from what happened to us before. Maybe that's why Kamichi decided to follow _us_ instead of you guys!"

"It's still wrong!" Hikaru protested. "You guys don't even deserve to be ninja! There's a difference between monsters and rogue ninja. Eliminating one of your own is completley wrong. Rogue ninja may not be the nicest of folks, but we have to stick together!"

Midori punched him in the head. "Shut up. I'm tired of older people lecturing me!"

Hikaru winced at the blow, and decided to be quiet for now. Midori was one dangerous girl...if she had you right where she wanted you.

After a few more minutes of pure silence, Midori heard a whistle. It was a signal from Toshiro that they were all done with what they came to do. The hideout looked pretty normal on the outside, it must have been a real wreck on the inside. Midori had wanted to join in, but Toshiro had ordered her to go outside and stop whoever was nearby.

Midori slowly started to ease off of Hikaru, looking over at the four small figures about forty yards away, starting to walk torwards their own hideout. One was lagging behind, head down, apparently upset. She wondered who it was.

"Okay, you can go now, Hikaru-" Midori started.

"Aaaargh! Kaaaammiiiiccchiiii!" Hikaru shrieked angrily at the top of his lungs, shoving Midori behind him and making a break for the rest of Squad 101. "I can't believe you would raid a squad! To hang out with these...these sadistic creeps! When I get over there, you're gonna be in so much trouble!" He felt almost scared of his own voice. He sounded like somebody's father.

"Is that...Hikaru...?!" Kamichi whispered in horror. "What's he doing here?!"

"Hikaru?!" Masakaru, Toshiro, and Kouki cried in unison. They were in pure shock and awe. They knew who he was.

"Heeeey! Get back here and leave my friend alone!" Midori screamed, chasing after him. She caught up to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

"No!" Hikaru screamed, shoving her even further away. "Kamichi doesn't belong to your squad!"

"Yes, he DOES!" Midori started kicking him and stepping on his feet, trying to make him fall over.

"Aaaaahh! Leave me alone!" Hikaru tackled Midori to the ground in fury. The two of them started rolling onto the ground, throwing punches at each other and one trying to pin the other. Since Hikaru was much more of a better ninja and wasn't putting a colassal amount of pitiful effort into it, he was winning.

In seconds, Midori was the one was suffering and crying.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Kamichi ran over as fast as he could, grabbing Hikaru and yanking him off of Midori. He threw Hikaru on the ground and glared down at him. "What do you think you're doing to her?!" He helped Midori off of the ground and hugged her in a protective manner.

"I wasn't doing anything to your girlfriend! _She_ was messing with _me_, trying to keep me here untill you guys were done terrorizing another squad!" Hikaru cried defensively. "You should be ashamed of yourself anyway!! What would Omari say if she found out that you were doing this to other people?!"

Kamichi was silent. Midori and Hikaru suddenly saw that Kamichi's face was tear-streaked and was covered in blood.

"K-Kamichi..." Midori nervously looked up at him. "What...what happened to you? You're all bloody and...upset..." She stammered, a bit frightened by his disturbing appearance and expression.

"It's...it's nothing. Just...go back with Toshiro and the others." Kamichi quietly shooed her away, back where the rest of Squad 101 gathered, just watching the scene between he and Hikaru unfold. Kamichi faced Hikaru, angry. "Why are you here? Why did you follow me?!"

"I...didn't follow you! Haku did!" Hikaru yelled frantically, standing up. "He must have been watching what you were doing from, his world, and he wanted to stop you from raiding the squad that you just did! Since he can't come here anymore, thanks to you, he sent a kamichi ghost in this direction for me to follow. Finally, when I got here, your crazed girlfriend pushed me into the creek and tried to stop me from stopping you!"

"She's not crazy!" Kamichi shot back, taking a step forward. "And your story is totally stupid! Those kind of birds don't live anywhere near this land! I don't believe you at all."

"Well, I don't think Omari's gonna believe what you did to that squad over there with your little gang!" Hikaru said, crossing his arms.

"I don't care if you tell _her_!" Kamichi said, enraged. "She's not the boss of me anymore! She can't tell me what to do! And neither can you!" He gave Hikaru a hard shove. "Now, get out of here, or else! You shouldn't have followed me here."

"I didn't follow you!"

"Yes, you did!" Kamichi screamed. "You meant to! You knew what that bird was! Following a ghost kamichi would be the exact same thing as following me! You're not that stupid, and neither am I!" Kamichi shoved him again, even harder than the last time.

Hikaru didn't budge.

"GET...OUT! I hate you, and you know that!" Kamichi said loudly, although Hikaru could see more tears forming in his eyes. "And by the way, I didn't do anything to the squad in that hideout! I was just there! Now go!"

"No! You're not the boss of me any more than me being the boss of you!" Hikaru refused to move.

Kamichi bent down to the ground, and picked up a rock sheild around his fist, making it twice as large and hard. Four rocky spikes poked out of them, one for each knuckle. He held his fist at the ready. "Leave, or I kill you." He growled.

Hikaru took a nervous step back. He felt so unsure of his own powers lately...he didn't even know if he was a match for Kamichi at all anymore. He knew a few tricks, but not many.

"In fact, you're lucky I DON'T kill you right now for what you did to me back at your castle!" Kamichi growled, taking a big step forward. "You should be very afraid. I'm the one who killed your demon. If I were you, I would leave right now. And quickly, before I change my mind." Kamichi raised his fist high in the air before Hikaru.

"YIKES!" Hikaru jumped, starting to tremble. "Okay, kid. I believe you. Just...put that thing down!"

_"GO!" _Kamichi swung his rock fist at Hikaru's face.

"Yaaaaaahh!" Hikaru jumped out of the way, and started to run.

After running about a quarter mile away from Kamichi and the rest of his squad in a matter of only five seconds, Hikaru flopped down on his back in the middle of the forest, worn out. He felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest. Suddenly, the kamichi bird perched right onto his stomach and cocked it's head. Hikaru lifted his head a little to give the bird a very sorry look.

_"You failed," _The kamichi told him in a very familiar voice.

Hikaru put his head back down onto the ground and sighed sadly. He was such a weakling. "I know, Haku. I know."

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"What the HECK was that?!" Toshiro yelled at Kamichi, who was busy removing his rock armor about ten feet away.

"What do you mean?" Kamichi glared at Toshiro.

"It was just...so...weird..." Masakaru whispered. "Yet so amazing. I mean, you actually scared off one of the Kingpin Kunais! How did you manage to do that?! I mean, how could you even have the guts to do that?! Especially with a guy like Hikaru?! I mean, why'd you do it?"

"I was on their squad before." Kamichi told them quietly, walking back to their little group. He still looked very angry and teary-eyed.

Kouki and Masakaru gasped.

"But...why did you-...?" Toshiro started to babble, as confused as his other teammates. Who would have the guts or the heart to tell off one of the Kingpin Kunai squad members? They were one of the greatest rogue ninja squads on Earth! What idiot would scream at and scare off a celebrity?!

"Just...forget it. It's too hard to explain." Kamichi mumbled sadly, shaking his head and sniffling. He looked at where his rock fist had been undone. A pile of earth now lay on the ground. Kamichi kicked it angrily and looked away.

Midori was the only one who dared to go near him. She looked at him nervously. "Kamichi...are...are you okay?"

Kamichi hugged her slightly, despite the blood all over his body. Midori didn't seem to mind that, though. She was too worried about him.

"Yeah, Midori...I'm okay. Are you okay?" Kamichi returned the question.

"Yes, but..." Midori's shaken voice trailed off. She had never seen anybody look as upset and angry as this before...

"Just...forget it." Kamichi whispered, starting to walk away torwards their hideout.

Everyone just stared at him, shocked and concerned.

Kamichi slightly turned to glare back at all of them. He looked almost annoyed now. "Well? Are you guys coming, or what?"

_**...One Hour Later...**_

_**...Back At The Kingpin Kunais' Hideout...**_

"Kamichi did what?!" Omari gasped, shocked. "But...I don't understand...how could he do such a thing?" She put her trembling hands to her mouth, starting to cry.

"I don't know..." Hikaru whispered softly to her. "I'm sorry...but I just had to tell you." He had told Omari everything, between Haku and the kamichi, the squad-raiding, Kamicho's creepy, girly teammate, and Kamichi chasing him away.

"How could Haku escape from the spirit world?" Omari wondered softly, tears streaming down his face. "He must have went through alot, between breaking out of suspension, and the transformation..." Her voice started to trail off.

"I don't know."

"And...why would Kamichi pick such a nasty squad to join?!" Omari cried loudly as Hikaru handed her a small square box filled with tissues.

"I don't know."

"Is that all you can say?!" Omari bawled, collasping onto her bed, burying her head into a pillow. "You're not making me feel any better about this!"

"I'm sorry..." Hikaru whispered. "I'm just unsure of what to say anymore. You're expecting too much change."

"What do you mean by that?!" Omari screamed, shoving him in pure anger.

"You...you're only letting yourelf down more than you should be because you're expecting better things to happen." Hikaru softly explained to her. "Being upset isn't going to change anything. You just have to deal with the fact that you're not a part of Kamichi's life anymore. I know it's hard to believe, but it's happened already And you're just sitting here, crying and waiting, feeling sorry for yourself, thinking that the impossible is going to happen just because you're sad! Well, it's not."

Omari wanted to hurt Hikaru now. She wanted to kill him, yet she wanted him near her so badly... "Just...shut up! You don't know anything."

"Why do you think I'm telling you this?!" Hikaru asked angrily. _"It's because I know! Tarina and I had to learn it the hard way, Omari! Think about it!!"_

Omari looked up at Hikaru's angry eyes. She had completley forgotten what he had been through during his life. "I..."

"You need to get up and resume your life as it is, because the Kamichi thing is a done deal! And if Tarina hadn't told you that Haku being dead was a done deal, you probably would have commited SUICIDE by now, Omari!" Hikaru fumed.

Omari gasped, shocked at Hikaru's hurtful words.

"Just...please." Hikaru's voice toned down. His hard stare turned into tears. "Just take it from someone who has been through it all. Take it from someone who LOVES you more than anything and cares about you like nobody else in this world does." Hikaru softly whispered, turning around and walking back into his own room. He shut the door.

The strong words coming from Hikaru had struck one of Omari's special nerves. The kind that made her realize what she was doing wrong and the senselessness of her doing them. She never knew that Hikaru loved her and cared for her more than anything, either. That was touching.

Omari also knew that Hikaru was still in heated competition with Haku and Tarina, even though he had made a truce. He loved her very much, but he knew he had some competition. Haku and Tarina. She found that out when Hikaru said, '_Take it from somebody who LOVES you more than anything and cares about you like nobody else __in this world__ does.'_

Of course. Haku and Tarina weren't in _this_ world. His goal was to make himself love Omari more than anyone in the universe could ever love her. He wanted to love Omari the most because he wanted to prove that he was worthy of her love. That was what he wanted. Omari's love.

_Maybe I should go talk to him..._ Omari thought to herself. She wiped the last of her tears away, stood up from her bed, and walked to Hikaru's room.

Omari nervously knocked on the door. "Hikaru...can I come in."

"Ah guesh..." A muffled voice groaned from the shut door. Omari was pretty sure that meant, "I guess".

Omari opened the door to see Hikaru laying on his bed with a depressed look on his face. He was also stuffing his face with the soggy remainder of his candy. She shut the door after entering, and sat down on his bed. "Hey, Hikaru...what's up?" She asked softly.

"Ah'm eatin' shum cangee." Hikaru gloomily replied. He reached in his semi-dry pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. "Want shum?" He slowly held it out to her and swallowed whatever candy he was sucking in his mouth. "You don't have to eat it now if you don't want to."

"Uh...sure, thanks." Omari smiled weakly, accepting the candy bar and placing it in her pocket to eat later. "Um...listen, Hikaru. I was thinking about what you said, and..."

"And, what?"

"I really don't know." Omari admitted, looking down

"You...just felt bad for me? Is that it?" Hikaru asked her sadly. "Because I'm the pathetic loser that tried to kill you all at least twice, then think there's hope for me being with you after all that I've done?"

"No. None of that is true, Hikaru." Omari whispered putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't ever say things like that about yourself."

"Well, I can't help thinking about it when everybody's been saying stuff like that about me for years." Hikaru sniffled, turning and facing the wall. "And it is true. I tried to kill you, did I not?"

"Well..." Omari's voice began to crack. "You did. Yeah, you did some bad stuff, but you can forget about all of that."

"That's exactly what we said to Kamichi, but it didn't happen, did it?" Hikaru mumbled.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Omari asked, confused.

"Nothing. You wouldn't understand it, anyway." Hikaru grumbled. "I wish my sister was here...or at least I was with her. She understands me...she was there for me no matter what. She loved and hated me and envied me. She gave me everything I needed to know. But most importantly, she loved me."

"But...I love you, too."

"No, you don't. Think about it, Omari." Hikaru said. "Think about all of the hatred you expressed torwards me, in words and actions. Think about Haku. Are you meaning to say that you love me as much as Haku? Or Tarina? Or Kamichi? Give me a break. No matter how hard you try, you will never love me. Love doesn't come on a whim."

"But...I...I..." Omari stammered, not knowing what to say.

"Exactly." Hikaru said. "You just want to feel the way you should feel, because it's being nice. And being nice doesn't pay. I mean, look what happened to everyone. Love never comes back to you, no matter how much you give. And being hateful doesn't, either. Life just isn't fair at all, no matter what. That's why I wish I were dead again, so I can be with Sissy..." He sniffled, tears running down his cheeks.

"So...you want me to...love you?" Omari asked, not knowing where he was going with this. "In a way in which...you and me together would be..." Her voice got quieter and quieter untill she finally realized what he was saying. She couldn't try to love him no matter what. Even if she ended up being with him, there was nothing that would automatically bring them together in a way that they would stick together forever. It just happened.

"Well, of course I do, but like I said, that doesn't just come on a whim. Then again..." Hikaru sat up and turned back around to face her, with a weird look on his face. "I can't read minds."

"Umm..." Omari suddenly got a weird feeling inside. The look on Hikaru's face was almost...hopeful. "So...you...want to know if I...like you?" She began twiddling her thumbs, her cheeks growing warm.

"Sure. I wouldn't mind you telling me."

"Well...I...I don't know yet. Love takes time, you know? And...I..." Omari started to stammer. "I just...I feel kinda weird when I think about it, so...I'm not really sure..."

"Oh." Hikaru's face fell. "I get it."

"Now, hold on a sec. No, you don't get it." Omari stopped him from going any further, still twiddling her thumbs. "Just what you said about how I can't marry a ghost...and...you know that guilty feeling you get when you think about something that..." She started to ask.

"Huh?" Hikaru looked confused. "What guilty feeling when you think about what?"

Omari laughed nervously. "Well, it's like, I love Haku...but...there's really no hope for me, unless I died or something. But...if I ended up loving you, I would feel guilty because of Haku, even though I can't really be with him when we're in two totally different worlds."

"I see what you mean by that."

"It's just that...I...sort of like you, but I feel sort of weird, you know?" Omari said.

"Yeah." Hikaru nodded, understanding. "So...you mean to say that there's hope for me?" He looked right at her.

"...I...yes. There is." Omari told him quietly, biting her lip in embarassment. "Just maybe. But this is a...you know, a kind of uncomfortable thing to talk about, so..."

"Um...yeah!" Hikaru pretended that he suddenly realized the queasiness setting in between the two of them. He smiled nervously. "And...after the long night I had, I'm getting kind of tired..."

"Me too." Omari said, standing up from the bed and stretching. "Um...so...I'll just leave you to rest, okay?"

"Okay."

"Goodnight, Hikaru." Omari said quickly, flashing Hikaru a nervous smile.

"Goodnight, Omari." Hikaru stood up and hugged her tightly. If it wasn't a kiss, it had to at least be a hug.

"Uh..." Omari twitched a weird, goofy smile, gently hugging him back.

Hikaru broke the hug with a contented smile. "See you in the morning, Omari!"

"Um...yeah. See you in the morning." Omari smiled politely and quickly exited the room.

This didn't look too good. Omari ruefully smiled to herself as she entered her own room, shutting the door behind her.. Omari knew Hikaru was going to try his hardest to please Omari and attach himself to her emotionally, but hey. Maybe this would turn out good after all. Maybe she and Hikaru could try to get over their problems together as a team. Just maybe...

_**...Meanwhile...**_

A gentle hand knocked on Kouki's shut door.

"Um...come in." Kouki called to her door from her bed, where a different, more boring book was in front of her face. She wondered who could be knocking on her door so late. Midori was in bed early. Toshiro was in bed early, too. And Masakaru wouldn't bother come knocking at her door unless he urgently needed to borrow something or if there was an emergency.

"Hey, Kouki..." It was Kamichi, still looking upset from before. He had taken a shower to clean off a few minutes ago, or...maybe the shower was turned on so nobody could hear him crying.

Kouki gasped, jumped out of bed, and quickly tried to shoo him away. "No, no, no! You can't come in here! You have to get out!! If Midori sees you in here she'll..." She was frantically saying in a hushed whisper.

"Midori...? Aw, who cares, Kouki? I just want to talk for a sec!" Kamichi pleaded softly.

"Fine. But...just hurry up and get outta here!" Kouki harumphed and sat on her bed, tapping her foot impatiently.

Kamichi shut the door behind him and sat next to her. "I want to know how you got the black eye. Who gave it to you?"

"What?! Why?! I told you already, and- why do you need to know?!" Kouki cried.

"So I can tell them off."

"What?!"

"Kouki, I see no reason at all for you to have a black eye! I just want to know who gave it to you, and why. It's not a big deal. I...maybe I just feel a little sorry for you, that's all. You don't seem to be the type of person to annoy people or pick fights. It's just not fair." Kamichi said with a concerned look in his eyes.

"I told you that I bumped into the wall!" Kouki growled. "Just leave it at that, all right? It's none of your business!"

"Yeah, I think it is." Kamichi said. "We're all a team. We have the same business. And if someone's being mean to you, then don't you think your fellow teammates should take care of it or at least stick up for you? And I_ know _it wasn't the wall, Kouki. If you're going to lie, then you should at least try. You know you want someone's help. There's something going on, and I want to know."

"No! That's not how Squad 99 is! Everyone's in charge of whoever is below their ranking! Whoever is high in ranking can do whatever they want to the people below them, no matter what the reason! There's no sticking up for people! And by the way, that means that I'm in charge of you! You can't make me do anything!" Kouki said, tears forming in her eyes.

"I know that you really don't want to believe in some stupid rule like that." Kamichi said quietly. "Just tell me, please!"

"No! I wont tell anyone anything unless they're in charge of me! And that's Toshiro, Midori, and Masakaru! They may look out for me because I'm the youngest and lowest-ranked, but they an also do whatever they want with me! It's totally fair because I could challenge their positons any day! I don't have a problem with the rules at all!"

Kamichi sat in silence for a moment, staring at the ground. He appeared to be thinking over something in his head. When he was done, he finally turned to Kouki with something close to sorrow in his eyes. His voice grew very soft and slow. "It was Midori, wasn't it?"

Kouki gasped. "What?! No! What would make you think that?!" She lied. If she got Midori busted, Kouki knew that she was dead meat.

"Well, for starters, it couldn't have been anyone outside of our team, since you didn't leave the hideout since this morning." Kamichi started to explain his theory. "And I can't imagine Masakaru ever attacking you like that. He seems too nice and cool to ever take advantage of his authority over you and hit you. And, Toshiro seems to treat you pretty fairly, too. I also know that he doesn't like to hit girls unless they were enemy shinobi. It _had_ to be Midori."

"I...but I...she..." Kouki started to stammer nervously.

"It must have been because I was near you and you spoke to me, huh?" Kamichi asked her. "She was being overprotective of me, I bet. I mean, I can totally imagine her doing that. Am I right? Just tell me if I am."

"Yes. It was Midori." Kouki whispered, feeling ashamed for giving in so easily. She looked up and glared at him. "Uugh...curse you for being so smart!!"

Kamichi smiled weakly. "Really, I'm not that smart. Anyone can figure something like that out. You made it obvious."

"Just...please don't tell Midori!! Don't bring the subject up at all! Don't even bring _me _up at all! Please!" Kouki begged. "You don't know what she's capable of doing to me!"

"Why can't I bring it up? It's totally wrong of her to hit you over something stupid like that. Besides, I'll tell her that _I _figured it out, not you." Kamichi said.

"Nonononono! She'll still kill me! She really will!" Kouki cried desperatley. "Just...please! Unless you don't want me to DIE, don't mention her giving me a black eye! She's a bully! It happens all of the time and Masakaru and Toshiro already know about it. It's totally cool!"

"No, it's not." Kamichi insisted, starting to feel aggravated. "Bullying isn't okay, either. I've been bullying a certain kid for years, and now he's DEAD, Kouki! How do you think I feel? This will benefit both you and Midori! Midori could get hurt by this just as easily as you could! I learned that the hard way with that little kid named Ryo in Squad 99! I was in that squad!" He said, tears starting to flow to his cheeks.

Kouki fell silent.

"Just let me do what I need to do, okay?" Kamichi asked her softly.

"No!" Kouki shot back angrily. She rolled up her sleeves and pant legs for Kamichi to see her old scars. "You see?! _This_ is what I get for the little things that I do to bother Midori! Tattling on Midori to her own _boyfriend_ would be the exact same thing as challenging her! I don't want her to think that I'm challenging her!"

"Why not?"

"You kiddin' me?! She's got a Radioactive Kunai, one of the most dangerous kunais in the world!" Kouki exclaimed.

"No, the Radioactive Kunai certainly isn't the mosy dangerous one out there." Kamichi snorted, rolling his eyes. "I bet you could take her."

"What?! Why would you egg me on to fight your girlfriend? I thought you loved her!"

"I do," Kamichi nodded truthfully, "but if you wanted to challenge her position as second-ranked, I have no business trying to stop you at all."

"Whatever. And if you know so much, then what is the most dangerous kunai in the world?!" Kouki challenged.

"Well...I've seen the top six most dangerous ones so far." Kamichi said. "The sixth dangerous is the Golden Kunai, the fifth is the Crystal Ice Kunai, the fourth is the Stone Kunai, the third is the Dark Kunai, the second is the Light Kunai, and the most deadly one of all is the Blood Kunai. Yeah, I think that's right. Only certain people can make certain Ultra Kunais or anything close to it. Some require Kekkei Genkais. For instance, only a person with the Hyoton can make a Crystal Ice Kunai."

"How do you know?"

"It's because I've seen them all, Kouki," Kamichi replied. "I've even made some before."

"What! You have?!" Kouki squealed excitedly. It took alot of strength to make anything as special as an Ultra Kunai. Those were legendary. She had been researching all kinds of special kunais for years, and yet she had never known much about the six Ultra Kunais, due to the limited amount books published about them, and how much limited information they contained. She had known about the Blood Kunai, the most dangerous one in the world. "You know, I've been trying to make some remotley special kunais for years! I've learned to make a Brick Kunai, an Electric Kunai, and a Fire Kunai!"

"Really?" Kamichi asked, interested.

"Uh-huh." Kouki nodded, seemingly unafraid to conversate with Kamichi now. "Those ones were cheap and easy to make, though. I keep them in that box on the top self over there." She said, pointing. "I've also been trying to figure out how to make a Radioactive Kunai, but only Midori knows how to do that. She can make a radioactive sheild over almost everything!"

"Yeah...I've noticed." Kamichi said, nodding slightly. "Have you figured out to make anything else like that?"

"Well..." Kouki smiled shyly. "I _have _made one kunai out of my own kind of energy, but...I really don't think it's that special."

"Wha? Really? Can you show me?" Kamichi said excitedly. "I'm sure it's really special if it hasn't been identified yet!"

"Well, okay..." Kouki stood and grabbed another little box on her top shelf, right next to the one with her other special kunais. She sat back down on the bed next to Kamichi and slowly opened it.

Kouki carefully pulled out the delicate item inside, and pushed the box aside. Kamichi gaped in wonder and shock. What was that?

"Like you said, Kamichi..." Kouki began. "Some people with Kekkei Genkais can make certain kunais. I think this one has to do with mine. I call it the Void Kunai!" She proudly held it out to him.

The Void Kunai was gorgeous. It was a long, sharp, shimmering black kunai with purple and silver sparkles on it and curved edges on the side of it. It was just beautiful. It looked so pretty, yet so professional and dangerous at the same time. The Void Kunai's name made perfect sense, yet made no sense at all. Void meant nothing, and the stunning weapon was certainly wasn't nothing. But when Kamichi looked into it, it almost seemed like a sparkling, bottomless pit, with nothing but emptiness below.

Kamichi found himself staring into the kunai, his eyes suddenly lost into it. He lightly touched it with his finger. It vibrated and made a weird noise. "Woah. That's amazing, Kouki. Have you ever fought with it?" He asked in a hushed whisper.

"No. I was thinking about fighting Midori with it someday, y'know, if I ever find the guts to do it. But...I'm not sure if this thing is a match for her Radioactive Kunai..." Kouki said, placing her Void Kunai back into it's box and back on the shelf. She sat back down on the bed, smiling in spite of herself. Midori would kill her if she found out Kouki was spending time with Kamichi like this.

"It's worth a try."

Kouki suddenly looked a bit curious. "What kind of kunais have you made, Kamichi?" She asked.

Kamichi gulped. "Well, I...uh...I've made a Light Kunai, a Dark Kunai, and a Blood Kunai." He told her. He suddenly felt weird. Considering the requirements of a person for each Ultra Kunai to be made, that didn't sound right at all.

"Huh?" Kouki gave him a funny, wide-eyed look look. "I've never heard of a Light or Dark Kunai, but I'm pretty sure you can only make one or the other, depending on your personality. Not both. And...the Blood Kunai? It just doesn't seem right for a guy like you. I mean, you seem so nice, and the Blood Kunai requires so many things that are beyond evil..." She could hardly believe it.

"Well...it's just that..." Kamichi started nervously, the memories getting to him. He shivered, biting his lip. There was only one way for Kouki to understand. He might as well tell her. His voice lowered. "Kouki...do you have a few minutes?"

"Huh? Um...yeah, I'm not busy or anything. Why?" Kouki looked confused.

Kamichi sighed. "Are you in the mood for a really sad story? I mean, by telling you, maybe it'll help clear things up for both me and you. W-would that be okay? Because I really need to get this all off of my chest..."

"...Sure, Kamichi. You can tell me anything." Kouki was almost scared of the words coming from her own mouth. She almost sounded as if she were Kamichi's friend. She had never really had any type of friend before in her life. But now...she actually felt willing to listen to Kamichi's story, even though it was getting quite late. She felt like a true companion.

"Okay, Kouki. This is the deal..." Kamichi took a deep breath, and began.

He told her everything.

_Everything._

From his birthplace, to being out on the streets, to meeting Gato, to becoming friends with Haku and Zabuza and the Kingpin Kunais, to Tarina's death, to Haku and Zabuza's death, to Hikaru's return, to the tender moments with his surrogate mother, Omari, to Hikaru's second return, to Hikaru almost killing him numerous times, and more, more, more. Every detail. Every quote. He remembered it all, and got it all of of his chest to the one girl he barely knew and really wasn't supposed to talk to. He told from the beginning of his life all the way down to when Toshiro had cut off Ryo's arm in the hideout, all from his own point of view.

Kouki listened to every word intently. It went on for hours. She laughed at some points, yet felt like crying at others, as if it was a really good book. She decided that Kamichi was a great storyteller. She felt as if she got to know each of Kamichi's friends, his worst enemies, all from his own point of view. He expressed his own opinions freely but didn't exaggerate too much at all, making it so real.

Kouki looked straight into his eyes the entire time, listening to Kamichi. At some point during the process, she fell in love with Kamichi and his story in a way that Midori would ever understand. She wanted him to tell the story forever. For it to never end.

_Maybe it's just because I'm a bookworm..._ Kouki thought as Kamichi rambled on. _Or, maybe it's because I DO like him and I am interested in what he has been through. Maybe it's because his sad story...almost relates with my own._

When Kamichi finally finished his life story, Kouki felt deprived. She wanted more. She wanted more of the story, but that was all he had. The rest of his life was right here. She was now a part of his life story, and she almost felt proud of it. She wondered if Kamichi would tell the same story in the future, only with more events added onto it. She wondered if she would be in it next time.

_Maybe...this was what Ryo meant by getting some help, _Kamichi thought, He felt somewhat better, refreshed. All because he had found the right person to talk to. Kouki's intent listening was so comforting and heartwarming...it made him actually feel like he had a friend now.

Kamichi shook himself out of a trance about a minute after finishing up the story. "Uh...um...I'm sorry for keeping you up, Kouki. I talk too much, don't I?" He smiled weakly.

"No, Kamichi..." Kouki said, smiling. "Don't be sorry at all. I'm glad you told me your life's story. It was interesting and I...I learned alot from it. Now I understand everything. I hope getting it off of your chest helped you."

"You know what?" Kamichi said, smiling back. "It did. It really did! It's the best I've felt in quite a while, actually. Thank you for understanding and listening to me." He gave her a hug.

Kouki blushed. "You're welcome. You can talk to me anytime you want to."

"Thank you!" Kamichi laughed with relief, standing up from Kouki's bed and stretching. "M-maybe...we can do this again sometime. Maybe you could tell me more about yourself...?"

"Sure, I'd like that." Kouki said softly, nodding.

"Well...I'd better not keep you awake any longer...we've probably got a long day of training tomorrow, so...goodnight." Kamichi said quietly, tiptoeing to Kouki's doorway.

"Goodnight, Kamichi."

"Oh, and Kouki? I wont mention the black eye to Midori, okay? If anyone is ever going to confront her, it should be you." Kamichi said.

"Thank you." Kouki nodded gratefully for Kamichi's understanding.

"Yup. Oh, and Kouki...?" Kamichi got a more serious look on his face.

"Huh?"

"Don't ever be afraid to do something that you know that you are capable of doing." Kamichi advised her. "I know my advice may not sound like it makes sense, but you should consider it. You know what you can do, and nobody else can determine that. Don't ever forget it. Always follow the ones whom you love and trust, but lead the way at the same time."

"Okay, Kamichi. I'll...I'll think about that. Thanks." Kouki said, smiling at him.

"Goodnight." Kamichi whispered, slowly leaving Kouki's room. He shut the door behind him, smiling softly to himself.

_**...Awww...I think Kouki and Kamichi Are A Perfect Pair Of Friends!! (puppy eyes)...**_

_**Uh...!!AHEM!! Please Turn To The Next Exciting Chapter!!!**_

_**AFTER THESE MESSAGES!!**_

_**Okay, I now grant you permission to flame me. I KNOW that was the longest chapter ever. It was more than 82 kilobytes. I'm sorry if I made you late for something or made you sleepy, but that's just how I am. I am so EVIL!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAAA! (Ahem.) Just don't complain too much in your review, or I could make the next one even LONGER!!! Oh, yeah!! (evil grin)**_

_**xDDD!! I'm just joking...:)**_

_**So...how'd you like this one?? Was it too goopy, or too gory?? Poor Ryo!! (wails)**_

_**Oh, yeah!! FUN FACT!! Did you know that I got the inspiration for the Fanfiction character Ryo from the real Naruto character, Udon?? Udon's the funny kid with the glasses in Konahamaru's squad. It's just that Ryo is a bit more smaller, jumpier, tougher, and doesn't need a Kleenex 24/7 (no offense, Udon).**_

_**I also looked up some name meanings for my characters. I originally just pulled them out of nowhere, but I've really begun to take them into consideration. For instance, Midori means "green place". With this character, however, I looked her up right before I included her in the story. That's why I made Midori's special technique having to do with green radioactive shields and stuff.**_

_**I recently found out that Kamichi meant 'horned-screamer', and was also a type of bird! And so, that's where my idea of Haku's ghost disguising himself as a bird and signaling Hikaru came up. Neat, huh? ;)**_

_**You know, I've gotten some people telling me that Omari is a boy's name, just because of Omarion.**__** --'...**__** Personally, I think it should be designed for a boy or a girl. It may already be that way because of the various spellings and such. Besides, my Omari's name also has a different pronounciation than the original 'OH-MAR-EE'. It's 'Eh-Mar-Rhi'. Think logical, people!! How many times have I posted this in how many different places?! Geez!!!!**_

_**Uh...and that's all I've got to say for now!! So...TURN TO THE NEXT CHAPTER...MORTALS!!!**_

_**cooing, girly Midori voice Toodle-oo!!! Tee hee!!**_


	25. The Lonely Remedy: 3: Facing The Enemy

_**The Lonely Remedy: 3: Facing Down The Enemy...**_

_**Um...once again, I have no comments at the beginning of this suprising, weird little chapter here. Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell you that the title of this chapter refers to the Kingpin Kunais' side of the chapter and the events happening in Squad 101. At the end, however, I do have a short F.A.Q about the series that will clear up some confusion about some segments. **_

_**NOW, ON WITH THE STORY!! HAPPY READING!!!!!!**_

_**...Five Weeks Later...**_

_**...12:00 P.M...**_

Midori was angry.

Kamichi wasn't attaching himself to her like she had thought.

Her foolproof plan now seemed pretty foolish.

Kamichi now seemed so...so distant from the rest of them ever since Squad 99 had been raided. Midori wanted to know what was up, and she wanted to know _right now._ Kamichi still spoke to her and kissed her (sometimes), but his patterns of love seemed to be slowing up, no matter how much Midori pretended to ignore him. She had to resort to clinging to Kamichi again, but that wasn't working too much, either.

Maybe...it was because of that kid, Hikaru. Maybe the sight of him had spooked Kamichi somehow, bringing back disturbing memories of whatever and sending him into a black hole of spiraling depression and supressed anger. The very thought made Midori's ead hurt. It was too complicated, and the fact that she really didn't know much about Kamichi didn't help, either. Midori wished she knew what Kamichi had been through. Only then could she understand. She had been pressing and pressing Kamichi all week to tell her what was on his mind, but he flatly said that it was 'nothing', or 'he didn't feel well'. Midori wasn't _that _stupid. She knew it was more than a mere 'headache'.

Or maybe...

...Could it be possible that Kamichi had fallen in love with Kouki? Kouki was always looking at him lately, but Midori knew she couldn't pummel Kouki for just looking at him. Kouki did have _some _rights. Besides, Midori said that Kouki was allowed to have a crush on Kamichi, but now...maybe Kouki was secretly showing off the fact that she liked Kamichi, and Kamichi was getting the message. Maybe he liked her back.

Midori shook herself out of those horrible, horrible thoughts, and stood from the log she was sitting on in the training feild. She stretched and looked around at the others, who were training. Masakaru and Toshiro were sparring, Kamichi was practicing his aim, and Kouki...what _was_ she doing? It looked as if she was sitting on the grass, staring at something. It didn't even _look _like she was meditating. Just...staring.

"Little weirdo..." Midori grumbled under her breath, heading torwards Kouki's direction. She didn't care if Kouki was conversating with a bunch of weapons. It was time to have a little talk with her, anyway.

Kouki turned at the sound of Midori coming her way. Midori saw a pained yet secritive look on Kouki's face. She saw Kouki gather whatever she was staring at into a small box, and hide it behind her back. "Um, hey...Midori. What...what's up?"

Midori just gave her a weird, scornful look. She hated it when Kouki hid things from her. "What were you just doing?"

"Um...nothing, ma'am." Kouki could tell this wasn't going to be good.

"No, tell me."

"Um...there was a, uh...really big...potato bug! Yeah, that's it. It...was crawling around, and I was...examining it. It's quite interesting, you know." Kouki quickly lied. She couldn't let Midori know about her special kunai study. Midori would probably call her a weirdo, then ban it from Kouki just to make her miserable.

"So...you put it in a box?" Midori questioned with a skeptical look on her face.

"Uh...I...yes. I put it in a box to, uh, y'know..." Kouki smiled nervously.

"No, I don't know." Midori said, starting to get agitated. She knew Kouki was lying. Big time.

"Oh, you know, just to save it and...look at it later, and...stuff." Kouki quivered.

"...Whatever." Midori said, deciding to let the box situation go, even though it was fun to unnerve Kouki. She sat down next to her, hands folded, legs crossed. "So, Kouki..."

"Huh?"

"Have you been noticing that Kamichi has been paying less and less attention to me?" Midori asked her warily.

Kouki _had_ been noticing it, but she knew better than to say yes. Kouki knew that she had to play stupid, otherwise Midori would suspect something. "What?! Kamichi's not paying attention to you? Why is that?" She nervously babbled.

Midori grabbed Kouki's shirt collar and yanked her forward. _"It's not smart to play dumb with me, Kouki. You and I both know that. You know why Kamichi's been acting this way, and you're GOING to tell me right now!"_

"I...I...I don't know!!" Kouki screamed desperatley. "Just...please don't hurt me! I didn't do anything!" She lied. Of _course_ she did something. Every night, she had been meeting Kamichi in her room so they could chat. They told each other's life stories and secrets. They shared everything and mentally helped each other out. They were two troubled souls that had come together to try and mend themselves.

"Yes, you did! And you had better tell me, right NOW!" Midori slammed her open hand into Kouki's delicate little nose. It started to bleed immediatley, and Kouki sniffled.

"I didn't do anything to make him not like you! Honest!" Kouki said, forcing herself not to burst out crying.

"Yeah, you did, you little crybaby! Now tell me! And just remember...a liar can never tell the same story twice." Midori glared right into her eyes.

"Okay...I'll tell you!" Kouki screamed out. "I...he...we were..." She started to stammer.

"You were what?" Midori questioned.

"I...I poisoned him!" Kouki lied desperatley. She couldn't let Midori know she had been conversating with him for hours every night. That practically would have proved fatal. Poisoning him would be believable, yet punishable. It was a lie, yet shocking enough so Midori wouldn't make her tell her again.

"What?!"

"I...poisoned his soup to um...make him not feel well. I guess I was...y'know, sick and tired of how he focused on _you_ better than his _training_. I put the special poison in a few days ago while none of you were looking. I'm...I'm sorry!" Kouki cried, making up the little story in her head as she spoke. She poisoned him to get his mind off of Midori. Yes...yes, that would do.

Kouki wasn't just doing this for herself. She was doing it for Kamichi. Kouki knew that Kamichi truly liked Midori, and if Midori found that Kamichi was talking with Kouki all of the time, their relationship would be over. Kouki's life would be over, too.

Midori gasped, eyes widened. "You mean...fatal poison?!"

Kouki forced herself not to smirk. Midori was actually stupid enough to believe her. She actually believed her! "Uh...no. It's not fatal. It should be wearing off soon, in fact. The poison...just has a temporary effect on the victim. It really means no harm. Okay?"

"No! Not okay!" Midori yelled, slapping her across the face. "You poisoned my sweetheart! How dare you!" She slapped her three more times. "You jealous jerk! You_ stupid, jealous JERK_!"

Kouki decided to put up with Midori's beating this time. If it even _was_ a beating. Slapping didn't bother her very much. She had been slapped many, many times in her life, and it wasn't just by Midori. She had probably been slapped at least once by everyone who had lived in her birthplace. She had run the gauntlet many, many times because of using her power in public (running the gauntlet means to pass by two rows of people and revieve punishing blows). She had kept track of how many tiems she had done it when she had lived 'back there'. After the twenty-fifth time, she decided to run away. Midori slapping her was nothing compared to her tragic past.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

Kamichi stared over at the two girls and shook his head sadly. Poor Kouki. He saw her getting her punishment (probably for no reason), and felt horrid. He wanted to help her out, but he had told Kouki that he wouldn't. He had wanted to hear what they were saying by using his Eavesdropping Jutsu, but...it just wasn't working today. It was so weird. It felt as if...it had been stolen from him.

Then, it hit him. "That DIRTY little RAT!" He screamed to himself. Of course. Toshiro had been the one to steal it with his Kekkei Genkai. How else could he have heard he and Midori through the air vent? His fists were shaking in anger.

Kamichi stomped over to where Toshiro and Masakaru were training. "Heeeeyy, TOSHIRO! Get over here!" He screamed about ten feet away from him.

_Look who's finally realized that their jutsu is missing..._ Toshiro thought. He smoothly walked over to the angry boy, arms crossed. Masakaru went along, too, just in case a fight broke out and needed to be stopped. "What?"

"Give me back my jutsu, you jerk!"

"Nope." Toshiro sneered. "It's all mine. Even if you killed me, you still wouldn't be able to get it. And even if I _wanted _to give it back, which I don't, I still couldn't. Guess you're outta luck, kid."

"Why are you treating me like this?! Why only me?!" Kamichi hissed.

"I've told you the answer a thousand times, ya dimwit!" Toshiro laughed.

"Shut up. I'm not stupid." Kamichi thumped Toshiro's chest. "I only keep on asking you because the reason is so stupid, it might as well not be a reason at all! I don't get it! Just because of Midori?! Listen, I like that girl, but you can have her after what she's done to Kouki!" Kamichi didn't realize what came out of his mouth untill after he had said it.

"What? Really?" Toshiro raised his eyebrows.

Kamichi knew he couldn't give Toshiro satisfaction just like that. "N-no! I...didn't mean that. Nevermind." He said quickly.

"And what's this about Kouki, huh?" Toshiro grinned evilly. "You like her, don't you? Better than Midori. And you don't want to admit it because Midori hates her, and you don't want me to be happy after taking your jutsu! Am I right?"

Kamichi just stared up at Toshiro, somewhat hurt by his words.

"Just...cool it, Toshiro. You shouldn't pick on the kid like that." Masakaru said uneasily.

"Heh. What should I care? He's a jerk who can't decide between what's supposed to be _my _girlfriend, and Kouki. And he deserves to be caught in this position." Toshiro said.

"How is he a jerk?" Masakaru was confused.

"'Cause he is." Toshiro tossed off blandly, then looked down at Kamichi. "Anyway, Kamichi, taking that jutsu off of your hands was a favor."

"Huh?!" Kamichi asked, suprised. "How?!"

"Because. I gave you one of my jutsus in return for yours." Toshiro smirked.

"Huh? Y-you did? Which one?" Kamichi asked. He hadn't known Toshiro had _switched _jutsus with him. Kamichi had just thought that Toshiro had stolen it. He then became disgusted with himself, for there was an actual trace of hope in his voice. Maybe this could be an advantage.

"Okay. I'll show you. It's really cool, I swear!" Toshiro said, stepping forward. He started making a few hand signs for Kamichi to follow. "Put your hands like this...then like this...then put your thumb here...and finally, like this."

"Alright..." Kamichi mumbled, making the correct hand signs that Toshiro had just taught him. He suddenly started to feel weird. "...Owwww!" He screeched as some invisible lightning bolt struck his entire body, immobilizing him. He felt like he was on fire. He felt as if something was weighing him down, making him...

"Oof!" Kamichi fell flat on his face with a _plunk._ He could hear Toshiro screaming with laughter. After a few seconds, he sat up, moaning. His face turned an angry red as he glared at Toshiro. "Heeeyy! What the heck was that?!"

"That's what I like to call the Play Dead Justu!" Toshiro cracked up. "I made it up myself a few years ago as a prank. Anybody can do it if you just tell them how. It's only useful in battle when you face a big opponent whom you have no chance against beating. It makes you go down and look like your knocked out. That way, you can play dead, and make it look real! It's just a weakling's tactic that you can also use as a prank."

"Oww! You creep!" Kamichi yelled. "That hurt!"

"Heh, heh! It was supossed to hurt, dweeb! The pain is what makes you go down and look KO'ed! And it wasn't even the jutsu I gave you!" Toshiro was laughing so hard that he was practically crying.

Even Masakaru looked a bit giggly. He had it done to him before, but it was funny this time because it had happened to someone else.

"Uuugh...how did you not have the same thing happen to you?!" Kamichi cried. "You made the hand signs, too!"

"I know I did." Toshiro said with a nod. "But I didn't focus on my chakra at all, while you were fooled right into concentrating because I told you that it was a special jutsu."

"Well, now that you've had your little fun, are you going to teach me the real jutsu?!" Kamichi growled, standing up and dusting himself off.

"In your dreams, kid." Toshiro cackled as Kamichi's whole body shook with anger. "My special technique only benefits the user. You see, it works in a way where the knowledge of your jutsu is duplicated, and the copy goes into my head, along with some other stuff of yours that _isn't _duplicated- it just becomes mine. You may be able to do the hand signs, but I stole your real ability for the jutsu. Now, you're stuck with the ability of my jutsu, but now, you just need to master the hand signs without anyone's help!"

"Dang it!" Kamichi hissed. "And I don't even know the name of the jutsu!"

"Well, Kamichi, it looks like you've got a dud of a jutsu to deal with, so I'll just leave you alone to your work." Toshiro grinned. "Toodles! Or, as your GIRLFRIEND Midori would say, 'Toodle-oo'!" He quoted in a high-pitched girl voice, then ran to the other side of the training feild with Masakaru, laughing.

Kamichi shook his head in anger, cursed, and walked away to the opposite side of the feild to cool off.

_**...Back At The Kingpin Kunai's Hideout...**_

"Shadow Spheroid!" Hikaru screamed, lunging torwards the boulder target that Omari had told him to attack. A bubbly, black-and-violet spheroid formed into his two hands as he ran at top speed, holding the power in his hand at the ready.

"Good job!! Now, keep it going! Don't lose focus of your chakra or your aim no matter what!" Omari yelled, trying her best to encourage him.

"Yaaaaaaaahh!" Hikaru jumped up and slammed the Shadow Spheroid into the large boulder at the last moment. A loud explosion went off as his hand hit the boulder, and a wave of violent, midnight-colored waves swirled from the impact. The boulder exploded in an instant, sending tiny shattered peices of the rock pouring down on the triumphant boy who had just pulled off the amazing attack.

Omari squealed with joy. "_Good job!! _You've finally mastered a jutsu involving your own Kekkei Genkai!! You pass the test!" She ran over to give him a giant hug.

Hikaru blushed and smiled proudly. "Heh, heh...I really did, didn't I?" He whispered to himself as Omari hugged him even more, about to burst into tears because she was so happy. "Wow...to tell you the truth, Omari...I never knew I was capable of doing something like this...without the help of a demon. I always thought I was nothing compared to that ol' monster. It...it feels so good...and I feel so light inside. Lighter than a ghost." He told her in an unbelieving tone.

Omari smiled. "Good. We're ready to go."

"Really? Me, too?"

"Of course you're coming with us. How can we challenge a whole other squad without you being there? You're one of us, no matter how you do when it comes to strength. We wouldn't leave you behind." Omari assured him softly.

Hikaru blushed again. They hadn't been on any _real_ missions as a whole ever since Kamichi had left the team. It was time. Now, they were trying to make things better, but Hikaru knew that he and Omari needed each other, and Slicer and Zamu needed each other. They were friends, and they couldn't be apart. Of course, that was never a problem for Zamu and Slicer. They had known each other since birth because their parents had become friends. That is, before they died.

They had to start out small again. Go on a mission where it would get them motivated again.

They wanted to challenge Squad 7. Again.

Hikaru, of course, had no clue who any of those people in Squad 7 were, except for Kakashi. But Omari had told him who they were and why the Kingpin Kunais hated them all. It was because they were responsible for Haku and Zabuza's deaths. Hikaru found that a bit frightening that Naruto Uzumaki was the Nine-Tailed Fox, but Omari could take him. So could Hikaru, if he learned how to release his Kekkei Genkai at full throttle. ...Maybe.

Omari was up to it. Slicer was definatley up to it. Zamu, of course, was a bit worried, but he was up to it. And Hikaru still didn't feel one-hundred percent 'up to it' yet. He knew he could do the Shadow Spheroid, which was a satoosa-level attack, but still. The Nine-Tailed Fox? The last kid of the Uchiha Clan? Kakashi the Copycat? Geez. Why did Squad 7 have all of the dangerous, cheating, non-losing little rats? That wasn't fair.

Then again, every Kingpin Kunai squad member had a Kekkei Genkais...

_Uuggh...I should really stop it with these worried thoughts. I'm turning into Zamu! _Hikaru shook himself out of his self-assurances about how fighting Squad 7 wouldn't be so bad. They were just a bunch of weird kids who the Kingpin Kunais had a bone to pick with. They were going to fight reguardless of who was on the squad.

"So, Omari, uh...where does this Squad 7 live again?" Hikaru asked, scratching his head.

"In The Hidden Leaf Village." Came Omari's brisk reply as she led the way back to the hideout to gather their things. "But they don't expect our arrival, which gives them an advantage."

"And...exactly why are we doing this?"

"We're getting our revenge. I know revenge doesn't do us any good, but the last fight actually ended up in Tarina's death, and she wasn't even involved in the battle! I told Naruto I'd be back to kill him, and I'm going to fulfill the promise I made to myself. This will get me back on track." Omari said.

Hikaru understood and knew the answers to the two questions all along, but he just wanted to remind Omari of all the trouble she was going through just to fail again. What if another one of them died? Their lives were at risk already just by being rogue ninja. If rogue ninja from a totally different land barged into the Hidden Leaf Village and tried to kill off a few kids who were minding their own business, then that was risking being killed or thrown in jail it big time.

Omari and Hikaru entered the hideout, and got their things together. Slicer and Zamu entered the same room with their backpacks ready. Hikaru looked around nervously at his teammates, all with a dead-serious, determined look in their eyes. They were ready. Hikaru took a deep breath. This was the first real fight that he had that was without the help of an all-powerful demon. He had no plans, no strategies...he didn't care if he was turning into Zamu now. This was something _real_ to worry about. Sweat began to trickle down his face and he shuddered. It was so scary. A real opponent...him fighting all by himself...

He was about to fight the one who helped kill his own sister, one of the only people in the world who was able to surpass Hikaru's power...his own sister, who was the one who killed him in the first place...

Hikaru cringed as he felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder. He turned to see Omari, smiling softly at him. "It'll be okay, Hikaru. I promise you. Don't be nervous. We're all here to help each other..."

Hikaru gulped. "...Okay. I...alright. I'll try my best."

_**...Back At Squad 101's Hideout...**_

"Stupid Midori. Stupid, stupid Midori...she's so sadistic and so...MEAN!" Kouki grumbled to herself while lightly rubbing her numbed, bright pink cheeks. As it turned out, Midori's slapping had gotten quite painful after five more minutes of her being slapped in the exact same spots. She had finally escaped from Midori's clutches and was now sitting by herself on a different side of the training field, aloof from everybody else. Kamichi was with Midori. Toshiro was with Masakaru.

This was just so dumb. She wanted to do something about this. She was fed up with being mistreated. She was fed up with being friendless, when she knew she deserved Kamichi as a friend. Anybody deserved anybody as a friend as long as knew they could _be_ a friend.

Kouki knew...it was time.

Today would be the day in which Kouki would give it her all just to defeat Midori. She was done being pushed around.

She didn't _just_ want the rank in the squad or the power and authority over her teammates. She wanted to show Midori that she was capable of beating her. She wanted to prove that she was Midori's equal- or even her superior. That was what she wanted.

Kouki stood from her spot in the grass, straightened her clothes out, and took a deep breath. It was either now or never. If Kouki chickened out this time, then she knew she would just branch out the next time she considered challenging Midori. And the next time. And the next time. And soon, there would be no time left to challenge her.

She had to do it now, otherwise somebody else could challenge Midori, like Masakaru. Even Kamichi had the right to challenge her.

Midori's defeat would finally give Kouki something to be proud of. Something that reminded her that she really was strong.

Kouki's legs felt a bit funny for the first few steps, but the feeling started to go away after she was three-quarters of the way to where Midori and Kamichi were sitting. Kouki had left her box behind but had taken the Void Kunai with her. It was now vibrating in her pocket, sensing the enemy that lay ahead. It wanted a battle. Kouki stuck her hand in her pocket, playing with the Void Kunai, trying to 'calm it down'. The vibrating just wouldn't stop. Power waves were flowing from it and washed gently over Kouki's hand. It felt good.

Kouki stopped in front of Midori and Kamichi, who were sitting in silence, not doing much of anything. Kamichi looked angry and a bit frazzled. Midori was just sitting there, wanting to be near Kamichi.

"Ahem." Kouki cleared her throat loudly, wanting Midori's attention.

Both Midori and Kamichi looked up at Kouki, who had a set look on her face.

_I'd know that look on anybody... _Kamichi thought to himself, not knowing how to react. He slowly stood from his place on the ground, along with Midori. _She wants a battle._

"What?" Midori asked Kouki, glaring.

Kouki quivered after taking just one look into Midori's big, angry eyes. "I..." She was at a loss for words now. She was letting her fear get the best of her, and she hated herself for that. The Void Kunai was shaking violently as Kouki nervously fondled it in her pocket.

"What do you want? C'mon, Kouki. Just spit it out." Midori demanded, getting slightly annoyed by Kouki's sudden hesitant behavior. She didn't know what Kouki wanted, and she really didn't care. She just wanted to be left alone.

_I have to do this...I just have to!_ Kouki silently screamed. _I...I can't be so scared of her anymore! I have to beat her!!_

Something snapped inside of Kouki as that last thought crossed her mind. Yes...she had to beat her. She had to beat Midori so hard that she would never forget it. She wasn't feeling much like herself anymore...she felt brave. She felt defiant. She felt almost...carefree.

A slow smile crossed Kouki's face as she looked at Midori. "Hey, Midori..."

"What?"

Kouki grabbed Kamichi, yanked him forward, and heavily kissed him right on the mouth, tongue and all. She made the kiss so sloppy and tongue-involved for more emotional effect on Midori.

Kamichi cried out in suprise. He had never felt a kiss like that before. He pulled away. "Kouki..." He said in a shocked, unbelieving tone. "That's not exactly what I meant by confronting her..." He blushed, nervously stumbling back from the two girls for two main reasons. One, was that Kouki certainly had some business to take care of. And two, well...he was a bit shocked and embarassed from the kiss to be around Kouki.

"Aaahh!" Midori screamed out in shock. The look on her face went from angry to enfuriated. _"Koukiiii!! What do you think you're doing?!"_

"Challenging you." Kouki announced in a neutral tone.

Midori was speechless. Her jaw was dropped. "You...want to challenge...me?!"

"Yes, I do. I want to challenge you for your rank...and for Kamichi."

Midori gasped. Kamichi gasped. Toshiro and Masakaru had overheard what Kouki and Midori were saying. Toshiro approached the scene (at a distance), followed by a very nervous-looking Masakaru. Everyone stared at Midori and Kouki from afar, keeping their disance.

Suddenly, Midori got a very serious look on her face. "_You _think you can beat _me?_"

"Yes." Kouki said plainly. "I do."

Midori crossed her arms and looked over at Toshiro, as if she were asking permission to do something. He grunted and nodded. Midori looked back over at Kouki. "Fine, then. We'll battle. And we'll see who ends up as the loser."

"Right." Kouki shivered, suddenly feeling tense. A horrible, queasy feeling formed in her stomach, forcing her to utter a small whimper.

"What, you scared all of a sudden?" Midori smirked.

"No, ma'a- I mean, Midori!" Kouki answered back bravely, bracing herself. "I'm not afraid of you anymore! And this will prove it."

Midori just nodded as Kouki took a few stumbling steps back from her. Midori bowed to her. "Fine, then. We'll see how much courage you really hold. It was nice working with you, Kouki...sort of, anyway."

Midori's last words sent a huge, unpleasant shiver down Kamichi's spine, almost making him fall to the ground.

_It was nice working with you, Kouki._

Kamichi didn't like the way Midori had said that. It made him want to take Kouki and run. Kouki shouldn't have challenged her. Kouki was fourth-ranked for a reason, right? That was something Kamichi had never considered. It made him desperatley nervous for her. _Good luck, Kouki..._

Kouki flinched.

"Woah...this should be interesting. I haven't seen this kind of battle since Midori challenged Masakaru..." Toshiro said to himself, scratching his head.

Kamichi happened to overhear what Toshiro was mumbling to himself. _Midori beat Masakaru for second position...? Wow...she must be really strong, then, because Masakaru seems to be one tough kid to handle... _Kamichi raised his eyebrows in suprise, then gulped again. He knew Masakaru wasn't weak. Midori must have been strong...

"You ready, Kouki?" Midori asked her, smirking.

"Uh-huh..." Kouki managed to sputter. "I...I'm ready."

"Good. 'Cause I was gonna start whether you were ready or not! Aaaarrggh!" Midori lunged for Kouki, tackling her to the ground and starting to mercilessly beat her face in.

"Oh, wow! Oh, man! Did you see the way she did that?!" Toshiro cried excitedly, stepping back from the two fighting girls. "Their not even really fighting. Midori's just thrashing her like crazy!"

Masakaru and Kamichi exchanged worried and uncertain looks.

"Aah!!" Kouki cried desperatley in a frightened tone as Midori hurled a cruel, radioactive punch to her face.

"Hee hee! Maybe you should have waited another five years, Kouki! There's no getting out of this one. You challenged me, and now you're going to get it!" Midori cackled into Kouki's ear while holding her to the ground all the while.

"Oohh..." Kouki moaned as the blood coming from her nose started to slide down her throat due to her lying-down position. _I...I've got to get up! I just have to! This...this is a battle of a lifetime...and I can't lose! This is just the beginning!_

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"Uugh! Where could they possibly be?!" Omari hissed to herself, bounding across the treetops of the Hidden Leaf Village. Her teammates followed closely behind her. She searched all over for Squad 7, but didn't find them. Everything in the Hidden Leaf Village looked sort of...dark. Everything was still, and bits of shattered windows and building were scattered along the streets.

"Whoa...what happened here?" Slicer whispered in awe, looking down at a few construction workers fixing up a small building.

"Didn't you hear? The Third Hokage's dead." Hikaru told them. "He...he gave up his life to save the village or something like that."

Neither Omari, Slicer, or Zamu had a reaction. They really didn't give a hoot whether the Hokage was dead or not. It was a bit of an advatage, in fact. There was nobody in charge who could come out from their house and arrest them for assulting a bunch of twerps. "So...do you think we'll find them?" Zamu asked Omari.

"I dunno...maybe." Omari shrugged.

"Hey, you! Miss! Up there!"

_Uh-oh... _Omari stopped dead in her tracks, having Hikaru slamming into her from behind and knocking both of them out of the tree.

"Aaaaaaah!" Omari and Hikaru bounced off of a few branches, then hit the ground with a _plunk._

"Oof! Ow! Ow!! Get offa me! You're...crushing...my...rib cage!" Omari grunted frantically from under Hikaru.

"Oops! Uh...sorry, Omari!" Hikaru apologized sheepishly, blushing and getting off of her. He dusted himself off.

Omari stood and bopped his head, angry. "You've gotta watch where you're going, Hikaru! If I stop, then you stop! You can't be so clumsy!" She kept on ranting and raving about Hikaru's mistake untill she noticed that a man was standing right behind them, staring. She turned to him with an angry, embarassed look in her eyes. "Whaddya think you're looking at?!"

"What in the world do you think you're doing up there, Miss?" The man asked with a confused look on his face, ignoring her blunt remark. "I haven't seen your faces around here. Never."

"Oh...uh...we're..." Omari began with a nervous, wobbly smile.

"Tourists!" Hikaru blurted with an identical smile. "We're tourists from...the Hidden Mist Village. Yeah. We were just on our way back from...uh...the...ramen shop! Yeah, that's it..."

"Well...uh...okay, then." The man said, scratching his head. "You know, Miss, you and the other kid with the gray bandanna look a little young to be wandering around by yourself...who's your sensei?" He asked suspiciously.

Of course. Zamu and Slicer were still hiding in the trees.

"Uh...we...uh...he's...up there! Hold on, we'll go get him!" Omari babbled, hopping up back into the trees. She dragged Slicer down from the tree, quickly deciding that he looked the oldest of the group. "This is him. See?!" Omari giggled nervously, guesturing to she and Hikaru's 'sensei'.

"Pleased to meet you, Sir." The man walked over and bowed to Slicer. "My name is Might Gai. May I have yours?"

"Uh...sure..." Slicer scratched his head, confused. Omari knew this man was an idiot. Slicer looked _way _too brutish to pose as a sensei. She should have picked Zamu, who didn't dress like a pirate, but what did it matter? This man was too gullible. "My name is Sl-"

"Oh!! Would you look at the time!" Hikaru quickly interrupted, pretending to glance at his black wristwatch. If Slicer told this Gai person his rogue-ninja-sounding nickname instead of his regular name, they were toast. "Uh...Taizo-sensei, we had better get going!"

"Yes, yes!" Slicer smiled nervously. He turned to Gai, who looked slightly puzzled. "Uh...we're sorry, Gai-san, but we've gotta...you know, hit the roa-"

"But first!" Slicer got interrupted again, but this time it was Omari whom had done it. "We were going to visit...some _friends. _Gai, we were wondering if you happened to know where Squad 7 would be? We would like to stop and just say hello to them before we return home." Omari smiled pleadingly at Gai.

"Um...sure..." Gai scratched his head with a slight twist of wariness in his voice. "They all should be walking around about a quarter-mile north. That's what I heard from Kakashi, anyway. They were on their way for a mission or something."

"Really? Oh, thank you so much, Gai-san! We really appreciate this! Now, we must go! Time's a-wastin'!" Slicer said quickly. "C'mon, everybody, let's go!"

"Uh...okay!" Omari said nervously, hopping back into the trees along with Slicer to get Zamu and head north.

That left Hikaru. Hikaru smiled nervously up at Gai, his heart beating in his throat. He was so lucky that Gai didn't recognize him as a criminal. "Uh...later!" Hikaru waved and then zoomed back up into the trees in a flash.

"Uh...goodbye..." Gai said uncertainly, scratching his head. Something didn't feel right. _Hmm...I don't know about those guys..._

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"You having fun yet, Kouki?" Toshiro laughed at the two girls on the ground, with Midori mercilessly punching and kicking her repeatedly in the head and stomach, not using any chakra at all.

"Dude, shut up! It's not funny seeing one of your own getting beat half to death by another! Kouki doesn't stand a chance! You have to get in there and stop the match!" Kamichi cried frantically. He, Masakaru, and Toshiro were standing about ten yards away, just watching the horrible beatdown.

"Kouki isn't even close to being dead yet," Toshiro said. "I mean, Kouki challenged Midori. That's basically giving Midori the power to make Kouki into a targeted adversary. Midori now has the right to kill her if she wants to."

"What?! Get in there and stop them!" Kamichi screamed fretfully, slapping his hands to his head.

"Nah. When Kouki's dead, and Midori goes cannibal and starts eating her corpse's guts, _maybe_ I'll stop it." Toshiro shrugged with a small smile on his face.

"What?! Midori goes cannibal?!"

"I was being sarcastic, you idiot!" Toshiro retorted. Then, he got a false look of realization on his face. He patted Kamichi on the head. "Aww, I forgot! Kamichi here looooooves Kouki and he'll do anything to stop the big, mean Midori!" He said in a babyish tone, then cackled.

Kamichi looked stunned and super offended once again.

"Forget it. Kouki's toast. Midori will tear her to peices in a matter of minutes. And who cares if Kouki's dead, anyway? She was worthless." Toshiro shrugged.

"AAAAAHH! You heartless JERK!" Kamichi's eyes suddenly turned red in fury. _"You don't deserve to be a leader!"_ He screamed at the top of his voice, putting his hands together in a sign. "Earth Style: Boulder Explosion Justu!"

"Wait! What're you-" Masakaru and Toshiro cried in shock. Masakaru took a few steps back.

"Yaaaaaaaahhh!" Kamichi screeched as razor-sharp boulders exploded from the ground in the feild and erupted into lava.

"Whooaa!" Toshiro cried as he jumped back from a rock. One suddenly came up from the ground, slamming right into his face. "Oow!" she fell back onto his rear, moaning.

Kamichi's eyes were still red. He put his hands onto one of the giant volcanic rocks, broke a peice off, and somehow morphed it into a heavy ball with his hands. He hurled it at Toshiro, who was still on the ground.

Toshiro sat up in a flash with a glare on his face, and it instantly cracked it in half as it hit the small, orange circular sheild that Toshiro had made out of nowhere. He gave Kamichi a crazed, scornful look as he threw the sheild on the ground and it disappeared. "Heeey! Kamichi, what's the big idea?!" He screamed, wiping his now dirty, bloodied cheek and rubbing his hand on the grass.

"Didn't you hear me?" Kamichi growled as the remaining, smoking rocks receded back into the ground. "I said that you didn't deserve to be leader. Kouki isn't the only one who's challenging their superior today..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Masakaru said, jumping in. "This isn't cool! You guys shouldn't just start a fight based on conflict!" He cried, wanting to stop the fight more than anything. He didn't want his best friend getting hurt.

"Why not?!" Kamichi yelled back, shoving Masakaru away without the intention of harming him or his feelings. "That's what Kouki challenged Midori for! Kouki told me all about how Midori mistreats her_ all of the time_!"

Masakaru just blinked.

"We both know how Kouki is gonna end up, Kamichi," Toshiro stood back up. "And we also know that I don't let jerky people who strike out at me get away with it! I accept your stupid challenge, even though you're already dead meat."

Kamichi just glared at him. "Bring it on."

"Aw, man!!" Masakaru cried, slapping his hands to his head. "This is getting totally out of hand! Kamichi and Toshiro?! Midori and Kouki?! This is gonna get totally serious _and_ lethal! I can't referee something like this! I've gotta go get help!!"

_**...Meanwhile...**_

Midori overheard what they were saying and she gasped, looking totally shocked. She then glared down at Kouki with pure murder in her eyes. "You told him..._everything??_"

Kamichi's bravery torwards Toshiro suddenly struck a special nerve inside of Kouki's heart. "Yeah! I did! And it's all because I love him!" She screamed, shoving Midori off of her and standing up.

Midori stood back up to face Kouki. "That's it. I was thinking about going a bit easy on you, but now, you're definatley going down."

"No, I think you are," Kouki sneered.

"Yaaaaaahh!" Midori screamed, whipping out her Radioactive Kunai and slashing at Kouki with it.

Kouki made a small, panicked cry as she nervously took out her vibrating Void Kunai and held it out in a blocking stance. Midori's kunai clashed against hers, knocking it out of Midori's hand imediatley.

"Wh-what...what is that?!" Midori cried out, pointing at the vibrating weapon which was now giving off small, black waves of radiation.

"I don't know, but I like it." Kouki sneered evilly. She flipped the Void Kunai around into a better fighting position, then charged at Midori at a very fast rate.

"Yah!" Midori yelped, picking up her Radioactive Kunai. She dodged the blow, then tried to stab the kunai into Kouki's side.

Kouki jumped out of the way just in time and swung the Void Kunai again, but Midori had disappeared and then reappeared behind her, throwing a punch at the back of her head.

Kouki whipped around and caught it, and started to twist her wrist. Midori screamed in agony. Kouki swiftly stuck the Void Kunai right into Midori's stomach, then glared at her. "See that? I'm not as weak as you think I am..."

Midori(?) suddenly smirked. "Heh, heh, heh...you think that hurts me?!"

"Huh?!" Kouki cried.

"Think again. I'm the one who taught you all that you know about fighting, Kouki, and yet you know nothing about my power. Pah-thetic." Midori suddenly disappeared, leaving a puddle of radioative goo behind. It was a clone the entire time they were fighting! "I've just been waiting right here the entire time." Midori's voice echoed from nowhere.

"Where?"

"Here."

"Where?!"

"Under you, doofus!" Midori's hand suddenly shot out from the ground and grabbed Kouki's ankle. She started to pull downward.

"Aah!" Kouki cried frantically, arms flailing. She was doomed. Midori was going to bury her alive! Suddenly, a small idea popped into her head. She grabbed the Void Kunai, and stabbed Midori's hand, which was still pulling down on her.

"Owch!" Midori cried, letting go of Kouki, her now gushing hand retreating back into the ground.

"Whew..." Kouki whispered, wiping her already sweating head in relief. She was so relieved that she hadn't been pulled underground to Midori's little cove of torture, she didn't realize that Midori could pop up any moment.

Seconds later, a huge green thing exploded from underneath Kouki, making her fall back onto her rear, screaming.

"Wha...what is that?!" Kouki shrieked, staring at the dripping, green radioactive thing in horror.

"It's called a Radioactive Sheild." Midori grinned, her face emerging from the green suit, although it was still green with radioactivity. Her hairstyle was still visible, too, with two long, radioactive-goo-covered ponytails. It was Midori, but just...green, dripping, and deathly poisonous.

"Eeew! It looks so gross!" Kouki shrieked involuntarily, gagging in disgust.

"Yeah, it does...good thing it doesn't stain my hair, skin, or clothes, though!" Midori laughed easily. She seemed to almost...enjoy the battle. Or, maybe, she was just pleased with herself for making Kouki freak out. "I'm radioactive waste-proof. It comes with my special abilities. Isn't it just charming?"

"No! It...no! You look like a huge snotball!" Kouki snapped with aggravation and disgust, annoyed that Midori was so easily sliding through this fight. She was also jealous that Midori's body fluids was mainly radioactive goop that she could just use for any purpose whatsoever. Kouki was almost worn out now. It was amazing.

"Hmm? A huge snotball, you say? Well, let's just see what this 'booger sheild' can do! What do you say?" Midori laughed, starting torwards Kouki with a mean look on her face.

Kouki yelped, then started to run away torwards the other side of the feild. One touch could burn her and possibly poison her to death.

"Yes, that's very brave of you!" The radioactive Midori taunted, laughing. "But we've got to get this show on the road, honey! Chop, chop! Make a move now or I'll do it for you!" Her arm suddenly grew five times it's normal size and shot out, making a grab for Kouki.

"Yaaaaaaaahhh!" Kouki screamed in fright. "It can stretch!"

"Thaaaat's right!" Midori singsonged, her hand still racing after Kouki. "And it can do much, much more! But...I doubt very highly that you'll ever live to see that..."

Midori's radioactive, giant, stretchy hand suddenly caught up and grabbed Kouki's right arm. It started to burn her immediatley. "Oooww!" Kouki screamed in agony. "It huuurts! Lemme go! Please! You'll burn it to the bone! You might even burn it off!"

"Now, think, Kouki. I wouldn't be doing it if it didn't hurt you!" The radioactive-sheilded Midori cackled.

Tears burned at Kouki's eyes, in sorrow and pain. She was so worthless...

Then, she thought about Kamichi. _No. I...I can't give in. I can't give up to this creepy girl who ruined my life! I can't give her my satisfaction. What would Kamichi say?! He would be so disappointed..._

Kouki knew that she couldn't lose. She's have to find Midori's number one weakness...or else it would be all over.

_**...Back In The Hidden Leaf Village...**_

"Owww!" Hikaru cried out, suddenly falling on his knees in the grass. He ripped off his bandanna, clutched his forehead, and started to howl. "It hurts! It hurts! Help me! Owww!" He screeched in agony.

The Kingpin Kunais didn't exactly reach Naruto and the others yet. Omari had told them to pick up the pace a bit, and as soon as they did..._this _happened. Hikaru fell to the ground and started to scream.

Omari, Slicer, and Zamu gasped, rushing over to see what in the world was wrong with him.

"Hikaru?! What is it?! What's wrong with you?!" Omari cried in a panic, picking up his gray bandanna off of the ground and offering it to him. When he wouldn't take it and was still shrieking, Omari put it back down and tried to pry his hands from his head. He wouldn't budge. "Hikaru, what happened?!"

"It hurts! It hurts!!" Hikaru screamed out.

"What hurts?" Zamu asked, eyes widened.

"My charm!" Hikaru shrieked, flopping on his face and sobbing. "My charm! Someone help me! It hurts! What am I supposed to do now?!"

Omari sighed. Of course. It was his head charm, attached ever since birth. Even though both of the demons were gone, it hadn't fallen from his head. His purple, moon-shaped head charm served as a birthmark that could never be removed. Tarina had the same charm, only it was yellow and it was shaped like a spiraling sun. That was why Tarina nor Hikaru hrdly ever took their bandannas off. The charms were very beautiful and certainly weren't too big on their faces, but it would identify them as freaks who withheld monsterous demons inside of them. Tarina's head charm-hiding was actually why she had started the Kingpin Kunais bandanna trend.

Omari had seen the charm on both Tarina and Hikaru before they had released their demons. She had never known what the charm was for untill Tarina had told her who she really was. She had always thought it didn't mean anything. Omari should have suspected something between Hikaru and Tarina back then with the odd head charms, but she was so young and so stupid back then.

If one took a single glance at Hikaru and Tarina in a photo, they would probably see no resemblence. Tarina had sky blue hair, Hikaru had black hair. Tarina had sparkling silver eyes, Hikaru had dark gray eyes. Tarina had a sun charm on her forehead, and Hikaru had a moonlike one. But if anyone was told that they were brother and sister or if they got to meet the two in person, _then _they would see the resemblence. Like Tarina, Hikaru had straight hair the grew in the right direction. Like Tarina, Hikaru had a defiant attitude and was definatley leader material, but only if you set him straight. Like Tarina, Hikaru always had a sarcastic leer in his eyes. Like Tarina, Hikaru could make you laugh if he wasn't being serious or mean. They both had demons inside of them, and the demons were also siblings. There were more personal traits that Tarina had given Hikaru than physical, but it was pretty obvious that they were siblings (if you got to know them and were paying attention, that is).

"Well, if you get up off of your face, maybe it wouldn't hurt so much!" Slicer cried, concerned.

"No...you guys don't get it..." Omari said, looking down sadly at her crying teammate. "Anybody with a special birthmark like this always suffers like he does. It results from excitement...or fear. Laying down on your face somehow helps it feel better, but...it's really not a healthy habit." She said. _Poor Hikaru...he's scared._

Omari had experienced the feeling before with her own markings. Her special markings in particular sort of effected her appearance, just like Naruto's affected his. Omari flinched as Hikaru turned onto his back and wailed, his head charm glowing and shaking like it was going to pop right off of his forehead. It very sight made hurt, too, but she knew how to control herself whenever that happened. Omari's hand involuntarily moved up to her dash-like markings on her cheeks. She remembered how people used to think it was makeup or something that she had voluntarily drawn on there, but there was really no time at all to ponder on that.

"It's okay, Hikaru. You don't have to be scared. We're right here with you. Everything's gonna be okay. Now, just calm down and take a deep breath before you make it-" Omari took another look at Hikaru's forehead and moaned in disgust.

"It's bleeding! It's bleeding, Omari! I want the charm offa me! It's itchy! It's itchy!" Hikaru screamed desperatley, starting to claw at his already bleeding head.

"Knock it off, Hikaru! Stop it! You're making me sick! It's only itchy because you're panicking!" Omari's markings flared as she grabbed Hikaru's arms and restrained them from scratching his head any more.

"I know! I'm scared! I'm as scared as ever, Omari!! These people killed my sister! How do you think I feel if they destroyed my own sister, who is at least ten times more superior than me?!" Hikaru shrieked. "I'm nothing without that seal! My charm is all messed up because there used to be a seal under it! Now there's not! I'm nothing! I'm useless and scared!"

Omari slapped him across the face. "Get ahold of yourself, Hikaru!"

Hikaru just stared at her, wide eyed, blood still streaming from his head. The slap had somewhat made him feel better. "Th-thanks for that...Omari."

Omari just sighed sadly. Zamu took a small cloth and water bottle from his backpack. He poured a bit of his own water onto the cloth, and gave it to Hikaru to put on his head.

"Thanks..." Hikaru sniffled, the inside of his head pounding from all of the screaming he had just done. His charm didn't react smoothly to the water. It glowed red hot for a second and hurt Hikaru's head, but he knew that the water was working. After a few more moments, his charm finally stopped bleeding. Hikaru handed the cloth back to Zamu, and took back his bandanna. He wrapped it around his head, stood up, and straightened out his smooth, black cape (yes, he stayed with the evil look). "There...I-I think I'm ready now."

"You sure? Another episode like that during the fight could totally throw us off..." Slicer warned.

"Yes. I'm ready!" Hikaru said, now starting to act tough and pumped for battle.

Slicer, Zamu, and Omari exchanged weird looks, then smiled weakly. "Okay..." Omari said. "We believe you." She stood up from her kneeling position along with Zamu and Slicer, and straightened herself out. "Now, let's get back to-"

"Omari?!" Came a suprised, obnoxious voice from behind them. The Kingpin Kunais turned. Squad 7 was standing right there, just looking at them.

"_Naruto..._" Omari hissed between clenched teeth. The look on her face almost frightened Hikaru.

"Well, well. If it isn't Omari and the gang, all recovered and ready for action. Let me guess. You were looking for us because you wanted to challenge us, right?" Kakashi Hatake spoke up, casually stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Wha?! H-how'd you know?!" Zamu cried.

"A friend of mine breathlessly came running up to me, saying a few suspiciously strange folks were out looking for us, and that we should watch out for them. Folks with strange bandannas." Kakashi said, shrugging. "It wasn't hard to guess who it was. A little early to come back here, don't you think?"

"No," Omari growled. "We've learned countless things during our last few battles. You'd be suprised. We're ready, despite the fact that it's only been about ten weeks. We hope you are..."

"We're ready anytime, lady! Believe it! If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you're gonna get!" Naruto said, spastically waving his arms all over the place in frustration.

"Hey...who's the new guy?" Sasuke questioned casually, guesturing torwards Hikaru.

"I certainly am not new!! I'm just as experienced as these guys!" Hikaru yelled back. "And FYI, I just came back from the dead! My name's Hikaru!"

"Hikaru? Hikaru what?" Sasuke asked. _Came back from the dead...? What's this kid trying to pull?_

"That's none of your business, Uchiha boy!" Hikaru snapped. "My last name would give everything away to you!! I don't give anybody my last name! And no way am I giving you the advantage!"

"Hmmph...whatever." Sasuke sneered, although a sudden urge to fight this Hikaru guy was bubbling in his stomach. There was something about him that made him seem like pretty good competition...

"So..." Kakashi said, whipping out two kunais, one in each hand. "I suppose you guys want to start this battle right here and right now?" He asked them, eyes still half-closed, as always.

"Sure, Copycat." Omari smirked, shrugging. "But this time, it's your side's move."

"Alright then! Here we come, believe it!" Naruto screamed, charging straight for Omari with a bunch of shuriken in his hand.

"Naruto, not so fast- aw, what's it matter?" Kakashi sighed, shaking his head as Sakura and Sasuke disappeared from sight, probably hiding into the trees untill the time was right to strike.

"Yaaaaaaah!!" Naruto screeched, hurling all five of the shuriken at Omari. "Take this!"

Omari dodged immediatley and the shuriken stuck into the tree bark behind her. Omari charged right for Naruto at amazing speed the second she had dodged, and Naruto was tempararily frozen in suprise and fear.

"What the...aah!" Naruto cried out as Omari slammed her golden-chakra covered fist into his stomach. Naruto fell flat onto his back, moaning.

He lifted his head up a little to see Omari standing before him, grinning. "It wont be as easy as the last time, Naruto. Try something else."

Naruto tried to move, but couldn't. _Wow...she's gotten stronger! She's keeping her chakra under control! And...why did her fist turn gold? What the heck _was_ that?!_

"Narutooo!" Sakura screeched in horror, alarmed. "Are you okay?!"

"I would be more worried about yourself if I were you!!" Came a cackling voice behind her. Sakura gasped and turned around to see Slicer right behind her, swinging his sword right in her direction.

Sakura just barely dodged out of the way, taking out a kunai and hurling it in Slicer's direction. Slicer caught it with one finger and lunged for Sakura with both swords in his hand. The swords went ablaze, blue flames licking at the blades for extra effect on the horrid attack. Sakura screamed.

"Noooo! Sakura!" Kakashi screamed, running up behind Slicer and hitting him in the head right when he was about to kill Sakura.

"Whoa...ouch..." Slicer moaned, flopping to the ground with a _thud. _Sakura smiled sweetly and breathed a sigh of relief as Zamu rushed to help him out.

"Dang it..." Omari cursed under her breath, watching Kakashi knock out Slicer.

"Heh!! The power...of teamwork!" Sakura smiled, turning and giving Kakashi the thumbs-up. Kakashi returned the smile and the thumbs-up.

"I wouldn't be so relaxed if I were you, Copycat!!" Zamu growled threateningly, already amost finished with healing Slicer's pounding head. He was always quick with these things. "We still have unfinished business to take care of. You and me." He finally stood up after splashing a little water on Slicer.

"Hmm...right. I almost forgot." Kakashi said in a bored tone, fixing his headband so it revealed his sharingan. "Alright, Sakura...stand back. This could get messy." He ordered. His pupil immediatley nodded and backed away.

Zamu immediatley looked at his toes. _Don't look into his eyes...no matter what. Untill you get your Kekkei Genkai, don't look into his eyes. After that...you should be fine... _He told himself, trying not to make himself tense.

"Uuh...what happened?" Slicer asked sleepily, waking up and rubbing his head. "Owch..."

"You'll be fine, Slicer...just get away from me and Kakashi. I wouldn't want you to be caught in the crossfire..." Zamu said without turning to look at his best friend. "Just go after the girl this time instead of the Uchiha kid. Hikaru can take care of him, and Omari will be fine dealing with Naruto again."

"You sure, dude?" Slicer asked uncertainly, standing up. "Omari can get all...crazy again and stuff."

"She might, she might not." Zamu said hurriedly to Slicer, whipping out a kunai in each hand. "It's not up to us. Omari might have to go all of the way for this, but that doesn't matter right now. Just focus on your own battle. If you get done early, then you can ome back and we'll work together on Kakashi. Now, go!"

"Oookay..." Slicer said in a weird voice, backing away from Zamu and Kakashi. This was totally out of whack. Shouldn't Omari, the leader of the Kingpin Kunais, fight Kakashi, the leader of Squad 7? And shouldn't Hikaru, who had the same freakish Kekkei Genkai as Tarina, fight Naruto, the Nine-Tailed Fox? And shouldn't Slicer, the one with the better aim, calculations, and courage be facing Sasuke, one of the last members of the all-powerful, super-intelligent Uchiha Clan? And shouldn't Zamu, who was a cleaner fighter and was trickier than the usual shinobi, fight Sakura, a girl with attitude yet has no clue what fighting really is?

"Whatever..." Slicer shrugged, gathering his two swords (which have stopped flaming a long time ago) from the ground. Nothing _had _to be perfect, after all. And facing a variety of adversaries that didn't have alike characteristics was good. He turned to face Sakura, who was looking at him with a 'tough' look on her face, in a fighting stance. Slicer smirked. "I know you want to fight me. Bring it on, little girl."

"Alright, I will!! Let's go!!" Sakura screamed, charging straight for Slicer with a kunai in her hand.

"Heh..." Slicer whispered, smiling evilly.

_**Ha, ha!! That's The End Of The Chapter!! A Big, Aggravating**_

_**Cliffhanger To Tingle Your Senses!**_

_**(does a huge Midori giggle to make you even more annoyed)**_

_**I had to end the chapter here because if I went to the next scene with Toshiro and Kamichi or Kouki and Midori, then it would take up too many kilobytes and...stuff. It would just be too annoyingly long of a chapter, OK?!**_

_**NOW!! FOR THE SHORT F.A.Q THAT I PROMISED YOU AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS CHAPTER!! ;)**_

_**Question 1: If Zabuza is dead, and his sword is stuck in the ground at his grave sight, how is he able to swing it at Hikaru and break out of his cage in the Aftermath??**_

_**Answer 1: His spirit is very alive despite the fact that he is dead. Part of the spirit lies in the sword (of course) so he can still take it with him while he travels the spirit world and parts of the real world, even though Sai stole ''it'' much later in the series.**_

_**Sub Question 1: So...there's two swords?? o.o**_

_**Answer To Your Aggravating Sub Question: Sai didn't actually get the ''genuine article''...**_

_**Question 2: When Tarina's death occured, there was no visible wounds, but ''blood was everywhere''...how is this possible??**_

_**Answer 2: It most likely poured out of the openings of her head (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, ect.)**_

_**Question 3: When the Kingpin Kunais unexpectedly faced Hikaru in Smogstone Cave, he said that his real body was back at his tower. Minutes later, Omari ripped his body right out of Haku's and threw it on the floor. How is this possible??**_

_**Answer 3: If you were really paying close attention to Hikaru's personality and way of quick thinking, you would have assumed that Hikaru lied to protect himself. He knew Omari was capable of separating him, but Omari saw through his deception. This assumption made by few, of course, was true.**_

_**TOLD YA IT WAS SHORT!! WE'LL HAVE MORE F.A.Q COMING UP SOON AFTER I FIND A FEW MORE SLIGHTLY CONFUSING PARTS OF THE SERIES THAT NEEDS TO BE CLEARED UP.**_

_**AND NOW!!! A REQUEST FOR ALL REVIEWERS!!!**_

_**If you will, please tell me your favorite quote from the entire series so far. PLEASE!! In your reviews, please include it. It's not a hard thing to do!! I NEED TO KNOW!! PLEASE!! IT'S JUST FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF THE AUTHOR!! Here are five ideas for your response to get your mind movin'...(you can use any one of these if you want...)**_

_**"But we need to get this show on the road, honey!!" -from Midori...**_

_**"Shut up, smarty goon! I'm thinkin'!!" -from Hikaru...**_

_**"Well, it was Haku's WIFE who started it!" -from Kamichi...**_

_**"It was suppossed to hurt, dweeb!" -from Toshiro...**_

_**"**__**Um...there was a, uh...really big...potato bug! Yeah, that's it. It...was crawling around, and I was...examining it. It's quite interesting, you know." -from Kouki...**__**  
**_


	26. The Lonely Remedy: 4: The Consequence

_**The Lonely Remedy: 4: The Consequence of Sheer Effort...**_

_**NOTE: This chapter is not easy to understand. There are many puzzle peices of the chapter that need to be fitted together to the past chapters and final chapters for a full explanation. Just send me a message if you have any real questions that you think I can answer without giving away the plot, and I'll try to help you out a bit. The chapter's effects mostly have to do with the causes of everyone's horrible pasts'. it's kind of serious all the way through, very violent, and very, very confusing if you skip even one word of it. For your best understanding of this chapter as a reader, I tried to skim all of the grammar and spelling mistakes possible to find.**_

_**I would really like a review on this one that tells me whether you find this chapter confusing or not between all of the time segments and the ghost interruptions and such. I purposely made it so it "wouldn't make sense" to some people so it would be a better, more tricky plot to follow. I also made it so you can't read this without reading every part of every single other chapter in the series, so if you're at least a partially devoted reader, you will most likely understand this chapter all the way through:)**_

_**Happy Reading!!**_

_**And...PAY ATTENTION!!!! IF YOU DON'T GET IT THE FIRST TIME, READ IT AGAIN!! RAAWR!! **_

_**Thank you. :)**_

"Yaah!" Kouki slashed at Midori's giant arm that was grabbing her, sheilded with radioactive waste. As soon as Midori's hand let go of her, Kouki whimpered and clutched her horribly scorched arm. She couln't even move it anymore. It was totally numbed and poisoned.

Midori cried out as her arm shrunk back to it's normal size and retreated back to her body. She lost all concentration, and the enitre Radioactive Sheild slithered off of her body and hissed as it burned into the ground. "Aww!" She whined, stamping her foot onto the ground. That was it for the Radioactive Sheild. She could only use it once per battle. If she tried using the ultra-powerful sheild again, her scorch-proof skin would start to wear and it could burn her to death in a millisecond. It was better safe than sorry. Besides, she would find another way to beat Kouki.

Or...what was Kouki doing, anyway?

Kouki was on the ground, crying, clutching her wrist, which was burned right down to the bone. Midori flinched, but was used to seeing these kinds of things. She had done that to many different people with her Radioactive Sheild. All's she had to do was touch them, and their skin was toast...

Midori shuddered again. She didn't like to think about hurting people very much. Not after what she did to her mother and little brother so many years back...

It was best to just do and not think. But she _had _been working with Kouki longer than she had really known her mother, after all. ...Then again, Kouki had kissed Kamichi on purpose, right in front of her! Midori's thoughts were scrambled as Kouki finally stopped crying to look at Midori, who was just looking at the ground, fists shaking.

Kouki knew Midori was almost hesitant about hurting her. It made her feel hesitant, too. Maybe Midori _was _too strong for her. Five inches of her arm was horribly scorched, and it was stinging like crazy. She wanted to stop, yet wanted _more, more, more..._it felt good to fight, whether she was winning or not.

Midori's head sharply looked back at Kouki. She glowered at her opponent and took a few slow steps forward. _I'm going to do this. Kouki asked for it, right? It might have not been okay to hurt people before, but now it is. It feels wrong to kill, but she totally deserves it!_

"Come on...Midori..." Kouki grinned at her in a way that Midori had never seen before. "I thought you wanted to hurt me because I kissed your sweetheart...I mean, _my _sweetheart..." She _wanted _this fight more than anything in the world...Kouki was almost feeling a thirst for blood right about now. She normally would have been afraid of it, but now...she liked it.

"He's not yours..." Midori growled back, although in a less feirce tone, still slowly coming torwards her. "He's with me."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot..." Kouki smirked. "You want revenge on me, don't you? For kissing him?"

"I...don't even know anymore..." Midori whispered to herself. Kouki's sudden confident, yet quiet mood was starting to creep her out. Kouki was smiling, too. What was that all about? Shouldn't she have been crying over her burnt arm, like she was just a few seconds ago?

Kouki somehow heard what Midori had said. "Of course you do, Midori. You know you have the eternal intention to kill deep in your heart...just like me!" She said.

Midori wasn't at all shaken by Kouki's hissing words. She looked a little angry now, which made Kouki smile. "What?! I never had the intention to kill anybody! Ever! It...it was an accident!" Midori had no clue how Kouki knew about her and her mother's death, but it was making her angry.

"Sure, it was..." Kouki said, trying to instigate Midori even more. She wanted Midori to try and kill her. She was having fun with this now. Her Kekkei Genkai...if it even _was _a Kekkei Genkai...was taking over. Big time. "Boring a hole through your mother's temples...that sure doesn't sound like a klutzy move to me, Midori!"

"Wh-what?!" Midori screamed with anger and guilt, tears streaming down her face. "Y-you...you're not supposed to know that! We were...arguing...and it got out of control! That's none of your business!"

"And what about your little brother...?" Kouki went on as Midori slapped her hands to her ears, but could still hear it. "He was screaming for help when he found your mother's body...and then you tied him up and took your Radioactive Kunai..."

"Shut up! Stop it!!" Midori screeched.

"...and then you chopped off his head!!"

"Aaauughh! That's _it! _You're going DOWN!" Midori screamed in anger, slamming her foot into Kouki so she was on her back. Then, she slammed her foot down on her head. "You...aren't...supposed...to...KNOW THAT!" She roared, furious. How did Kouki know what had happened back in the Hidden Rain Village?! Was she some kind of demon?

Midori then jumped on top of her and started punching her in the back of the head over a dozen times. Kouki started to giggle. It just felt...so...good!

Midori gasped and stopped punching Kouki as she laughed even louder. Dark clouds had formed around the area, and it had started to rain heavily. "What...what the heck is wrong with you?! You...you little freak!"

"Why'd you stop punching me...?" Kouki moaned. "I thought you liked enjoying other people's pain..."

"Uuurgh...shut _up!_" Midori screamed, standing up and kicking Kouki in the side so hard that she rolled over into her back and coughed up blood. She started kicking her some more and peirced her stomach area with three shuriken to make her stop laughing. She wouldn't. Midori kept on beating her up. The harder Midori slammed both fists down on Kouki, the louder she laughed.

"Hahahahaha!" Kouki was cracking up so hard that she was crying. Her face was covered in blood, tears, mud, and rain. The Void Kunai was still clutched in one hand, laughing with her...

Kouki's crazed laughing didn't even sound like Kouki anymore. It just sounded like a pure maniac, which was driving Midori ballistic. The laughter was ringing inside of her head and just wouldn't come out. "_STOP LAUGHING!! STOP IT! JUST STOP IT! IT'S SUPOSSED TO HURT YOU! IT'S SUPOSSED TO HURT!! WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?! I WANT YOU TO CRY!!" _Midori screeched at the top of her high-pitched voice, as she heard a huge crack of thunder and a jolt of lightning flash not too far away. She was now exausted. Midori had beaten Kouki so badly that Kouki's whole body was drenched in blood. But she was still giggling as if it were all a big joke.

Then...it hit her.

_'I want you to cry'._

Midori was being taught a lesson. She was suffering from her own sadisticness. She had wanted Kouki to feel the pain all along. Having Kouki laugh at her like she was a total weakling was driving her crazy, and that was why Midori was the one losing this match.

_No... _Midori thought with horror, finally letting go of Kouki's bloody shirt collar. _I...can't believe I've been so...sadistic and...mean... Kouki just played the biggest trick of all on me...that's why she was laughing. Or...maybe she's just the crazed little freak that I've always known her as..._

Midori cried out pitifully, flopping from her knees to the wet ground with a soft _plop, _moaning. Kouki cackled and sat up a little, depsite her broken nose and her torn up arms and legs from Midori's sharp nails scratching her. She yanked the three shuriken from her belly as if it was nothing. The poison inside of her and her wounds seemed to have no effect on her at all. Now...it was Kouki's turn. An evil look gleamed in her eyes.

It was her turn...to have fun.

_**...About Thirty Yards Away...**_

Kamichi could have sworn he had heard cruel laughter from the other side of the training feild a minute ago. It was Kouki. He also heard Midori's ear-splitting scream. It...sounded pretty painful over there. He would have looked over and seen what was up with them, but there was no time. He couldn't take his eyes off of Toshiro for one second, otherwise he would be caught off guard and kncoked out.

Neither one of them had recieved a single blow. They caught each attack or dodged and tried to counter it, but it never worked. Nobody had used a single jutsu yet if you didn't count the one Kamichi had used to start the fight with Toshiro. When it came to taijutsu, their skills were perfectly matched.

Masakaru was long gone. He had went to bring back help, somebody strong enough to break up the uncontrollable battles going on. It was considered choas if more than one challenge was going on at a time. Masakaru, however, wasn't the only one to predict that these battles would totally go out of hand. Kamichi could sense it, too. But...where was Masakaru even headed? He probably had no clue where he was running off to to whom he was going to ask for help. In the eyes of a rogue ninja, absolutley nobody could be trusted. Kamichi would have chased after him, telling him to stay put so he wouldn't get lost, but Toshiro obviously wouldn't let him.

"Alright, kid..." Toshiro smirked, breathless. "No more playing around. I know you're not trying your best here. C'mon! Release all that you've got!"

"...Water Gun Justu!" Kamichi blurted out without thinking, making a hand sign and releasing a pulse of water from his mouth. There was really nothing wrong with his choice, but if he weren't so nervous, then he probably would have thought of something better.

"You kiddin' me?! What are you, a genin-in-training?" Toshiro laughed loudly, putting his hand together in the exact same hand sign. "Alright, I'll play along, kid. Water Gun Justu!" An even bigger blast of water bursted from his mouth, completley demolishing Kamichi's water gun and slamming him in the face.

"Ahh!" Kamichi cried out, falling back onto his rear. Toshiro's Water Gun Justu felt like three fire hoses blasting him in the face all at once. He choked a bit, coughing up some of the water that had went up his nose. He sniffed.

"Ahahahaah!" Toshiro cackled, pointing at him. "How pathetically weak and weakly pathetic are _you_?! You can't even handle one of the simplest of jutsus! What are you gonna try next, the Clone Justu?!"

"No," Kamichi grumbled with a pouty look on his face. "I...I wasn't ready for it. I couldn't see since the rain made all of my hair go in my face! I couldn't concentrate!"

"Yeah, sure...so, you still think _you _could lead Squad 101?" Toshiro asked, arms crossed.

"No, I never said that." Kamichi said. "I know I could never be a good leader. But neither can you. And I'm fighting you to prove that a fifth-ranked squad member like me can defeat a jerky weakling like you!"

"A weakling, am I?" Toshiro growled with anger in his eyes. "Oh-hoh, I'm SO gonna make you eat those words, Kamichi..."

Kamichi just glowered back.

Toshiro slapped his hands together in another hand sign and grinned. "Kamichi...I must say that your Boulder Explosion Justu is adequate...adequate, but not great. Let me ask you, Kamichi...did you know that I was _born _in the Hidden Rock Village?"

"What?! No_ way_! Th-that's where I was born!!" Kamichi cried, eyes as wide as golfballs. This was the first person he had ever met who was also born in the Hidden Rock Village.

"Heh, heh..." Toshiro grinned, still making the hand signs for his next move. "And how long did you stay in the Hidden Rock Village, Kamichi?"

"I...I dunno...maybe a day or two...?" Kamichi gulped. He listened to Toshiro and answered his questions, but he still stayed focused on whatever Toshiro was about to do. "Why do you ask?"

"Ooh! So _you_ were the baby who got whisked away to the Hidden Sound Village, weren't you?" Toshiro said. "You were just born with the Boulder Explosion Justu inside of you. Now I get it."

"Get what?! Why did you need to know it?! What's your problem?" Kamichi asked frantically, starting to feel a bit threatened by Toshiro's attitude.

"You've never seen anynody else do a Hidden Rock-style jutsu before. You don't know what it means to be a Hidden Rock Villager at all. Hmmph." Toshiro said with a small smile. He made the last hand sign and chanted, "Earth Style: Rock Cyclone Justu!"

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"What, are you just gonna stand there and do nothing?" Sasuke sneered over at Hikaru, kunai drawn. "Come over here and fight me."

"I never make the first move, goon." Hikaru growled back without budging at all. "I always let the losers come to me."

"What did you just call me?!" Sasuke asked threateningly.

"I called you a loser, loser. Now come on. I don't have all day to wait around for a stupid genin like you." Hikaru summoned, smirking to himself. Hikaru always had the ability to make the opponent come to him instead of him coming torwards his opponent. All you needed was a tongue of steel and a glare full of fire.

"Aaargh! Chunin get on my nerves so much! You'll be the one who will wind up as the loser!" Sasuke roared, charging at Hikaru in a fury, kunai at the ready.

"Ooh, whatcha gonna do with that?" Hikaru teased, crossing his arms and cocking his head to one side.

"Kill you!" Sasuke yelled, charging with the kunai, which was aimed at Hikaru's heart.

"Hmm. Typical Hidden Leaf loser..." Hikaru sighed, grabbing Sasuke's kunai with a very firm hand and tossing it aside. "Try something else, goon!"

"Alright, then. I will!!" Sasuke tried to high-kick Hikaru in the face.

Hikaru ducked, then punched Sasuke right in the stomach. Sasuke gagged, but pulled away and tried another kick. Hikaru recieved the blow and tumbled to the ground, but stood right back up and got ready for another attack.

"You know...I never really liked Haku or Zabuza much. I actually tried to kill them a few times before." Hikaru shrugged. "So, to be honest, I really have no clue why I'm about to terminate you..."

"Uugh...what makes you think you can terminate me?!" Sasuke yelled, making a few quick hand signs and jumping a bit farther back from Hikaru. "Fire Style: Pheonix Flower Justu!" He chanted, followed by quick bursts of powerful flames exiting his mouth, aimed directly at Hikaru.

Hikaru dodged them in an instant, arms still crossed. "Do you really think you're faster than me?" He asked in a dead serious tone, with no sarcasm whatsoever. He wanted to know how concieted this guy really was. It somehow helped him figure out his battle plan.

"I don't think I'm faster...I KNOW I'm faster!" Sasuke laughed from right behind Hikaru, kunai drawn to the back of his neck.

Hikaru didn't flinch whatsoever, back still facing Sasuke. "Wow...you really ARE a loser!" Hikaru laughed, trying to distract Sasuke long enough with tough talk so he could finish making hand signs.

"What? Why is that?" Sasuke asked smoothly, kunai still at the ready.

"Well, for starters, everybody knows that Hidden Mist ninja are the fastest...and the smartest!"

"Huh?! What makes you think that?!" Sasuke said, irritated.

"Because they know how to distract stupid Hidden Leaf losers like you!" Hikaru laughed, whipping around with a powerful ball of darkness in his hands. "Shadow Spheroid!"

"Whaaat? Why- aaaahhhh!" Sasuke screamed as Hikaru slammed the Shadow Spheroid right through the middle of his stomach. Hikaru's hand totally impaled him. Sasuke choked, blood pouring from his mouth. "Aack...uugh..."

"Hmm, hmm, hmm..." Hikaru chuckled, roughly yanking his hand from the bloodied, still choking Sasuke and letting him drop to the ground. "Heh, heh...and _that's_ why you're a loser!"

Meanwhile...

Naruto had fully recovered from the nasty blow that Omari had given him before. He was now up and ready for action. "Alright, lady! You may have gotten a head start, but that doesn't mean this is gonna be easy! Buh-lieve it!"

"Whatever..." Omari sneered, charging right for Naruto again with a green chakra fist, which would have lesser effect than before, but would stun him long enough to pull off another attack.

"You think I'm scared of you?!" Naruto screeched, charging at Omari with a red chakra-covered fist. "I'll show your whole stupid squad that the future Hokage is scared of nobody!"

Omari just smirked. Just as she was about to dodge Naruto's attack and hit him with her own, Naruto stopped dead in his tracks with his eyes widened, turned around, and started to charge the other way.

"What the...hey, coward! Where do you think you're going?!" Omari called after him, letting go of her chakra and running after him.

"Sasukeeeee!" Naruto cried, running torwards the small figure on the ground in the distance and the triumphant one standing right over it. "Heeey, you! The creep with the gray bandanna! What did you do to Sasuke?! Get away from him!" He screamed, charging at Hikaru with his red chakra-covered fist.

Hikaru's attention turned to the boy who was now charging at him, but he didn't have enough time to react at all. Naruto slammed his fist right into Hikaru's nose, knocking him flat on his back. Naruto then jumped on him and started to strangle him, with Sasuke still laying unconscious on the ground. It was a wonder how Sasuke wasn't dead.

"What the heck?!" Omari screamed, rushing torwards the two. "Naruto!! That isn't your battle! Leave Hikaru alone!!" She yelled, trying to pull Naruto off of her teammate. Naruto wouldn't budge.

"Aaaaaaahh! Get offa me, you sick, loser goon!" Hikaru choked, blood starting to pour from his mouth.

"You hurt Sasuke! Now I'm gonna hurt you!" Naruto yelled, tightening his grip on Hikaru's neck with the Nine-Tailed Fox's claws. His whisker-like markings had turned into realistic ones, his entire body was glowing with a red lust. Now, everyone's attention was turned torwards the new little scene going on. 

_This...this is it! _Hikaru thought with horror. _This is how it's gonna end. My charm hurts so badly right now...it's pathetic. Now I'm going to die because of this person...Naruto. The one who killed my sister and almost killed Haku! There's just...no way I can match him! No way!_

Sakura and Kakashi weren't sure how to react to this. They didn't know whether to be happy that Naruto was triumphant over Hikaru and was sticking up for his fallen companion, or to be angry and alarmed that Naruto showed his back to his real opponent, endangering himself.

Omari whipped out a kunai and tried her hardest to make a Light Kunai without thinking about the consequences for even trying. It was the only thing she could do to attack Naruto and get the desired effect. Obviously, a normal one would just bounce right off of Naruto while in Nine-Tailed Fox form. She had to create a Light one, because a dark type of chakra was always weak compared to light energy, and light energy was weak around dark energy. It was only that way because light and darkness were two totally different things always battling it out. But there was never a dominant one. Light versus dark was just a battle that had no advantages to it.

Omari's hand started to shake. She was trying...the kunai was vibrating...

"Yaaah-ahhh!" Omari screamed and dropped the kunai as her entire hand and wrist started to gush blood from no visible wounds. Blood formed at every spot on her hand and wrist and started to drip to the ground. The pain was unbearable. She clutched her lower wrist and emitted a peircing wail that didn't even sound like herself. The scream was so loud and earth-shaking that even Sasuke started to awaken. The kunai that Omari had tried to create a Light Spirit Sheild on now lay on the ground, shaking and covered in Omari's blood. It then started to burn and seep into the ground.

"Wha...what is that...?" Sasuke moaned, then started to cough.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out in worry, running over to heal his heavily wounded stomach, covering her ears all the while.

Even with the horrible shrieking coming from Omari, Naruto still didn't give up on Hikaru. He was enraged, still right on top of him, foaming at the mouth, choking him. He thought Sasuke was dead (again), and he wouldn't let anyone get away with killing him. Especially a rogue ninja. The scream startled him a bit, but didn't effect his actions at all.

_Th-that scream...can it be? _Kakashi silently wondered, horrified. _No...it can't. If that girl Omari is who I think she is, then she's long dead. No doubt about it... I thought I recognized the creature she had half-turned into the last time we fought, but...I don't know. Just maybe._

_What the heck!? Why is Omari screaming like that?! And what's wrong with her hand!? It looks...uugh! It looks horrible!! _Zamu thought, hands still slapped to his ears.

_I've never heard Omari scream like that...all's she was doing was holding a kunai! What happened?! _Slicer thought, confused.

Hikaru was now unconscious. He had been struggling the entire time, and had only broken free of Naruto's tight grasp twice to take a really big gasp of breath before Naruto beat him down again and started to choke him. His eyes were filling up with tears. It hurt so badly...yet he almost felt as if he deserved it. After all of these years of plotting...and trying to kill people...the whole main area of the Hidden Mist Village was destroyed because of him! What had he ever done to deserve Naruto's mercy?

_**...Meanwhile...**_

Masakaru was lost.

He had been running away from his hideout's training area so fast that he didn't even pay attention to where he was heading off to. He was now surrounded by a huge area of towering trees, with their large, scary-looking branches swaying and looming over him.

Well...Masakaru had to admit that it was better than watching Midori and Kouki and Kamichi and Toshiro rip each other to shreds. And yet, Masakaru knew that he couldn't let that happen. He had to break them up. He just knew that it would get dangerous. And, he wasn't just being a worry wort. Masakaru had gotten a horrible, distubing vibe that told him he needed to settle everybody down. The bad vibe Masakaru was getting was mostly coming from Kouki. There was something about that girl that made him shiver. He didn't know what it was, but...

Besides for the horrible match-ups for the two battles going on miles away, Masakaru kind of liked the idea of Midori getting beaten by Kouki. It was really nothing personal...okay, it was personal. Midori wasn't exactly what you would call a 'smart shinobi'. She was lazy, too. Masakaru never blushed in her presence because he had always told himself to look past people's appearances, unlike many other stupid males who just looked at girl's bodies or what they wore, or how they acted.

Masakaru wasn't exactly against Midori because she had beaten him in a challenge for second-position in the squad. He was pretty steamed at first, but the only thing that _really _ticked him off was the way Midori had treated him after that. She acted as if she could rule over him forever.

When the four original Squad 101 members were all together, Masakaru could have sworn that Midori had a huge crush on him. She was always near him, flirting, talking up a storm, laying her head on his shoulder, kissing his cheek, playing with his spiked purple hair, or something else stupid like that. Midori was a beautiful girl, but Masakaru never was interested into girls or anything like that. He made sure to never give Midori a reaction or the satisfaction of being able to manipulate him and kiss him whenever she liked, like she could with any other boy in her age group. That was when Midori decided to challenge him so she could finally rule over him and be certified to do so.

The very thought made Masakaru peeved.

It was also why he wanted Toshiro to win in the other fight that had broken out. Kamichi was stupid enough to fall for Midori. Toshiro had, too, but Midori had rarely showed any superaffection for him, probably because he was her superior, and Midori didn't like her superiors. She only flirted with Toshiro when she felt the need to change something in the squad so she could talk him into it by using her _charm _and _gracefulness_. Kamichi was the one who knew straight out that Midori had a crush on him. He had purposely fallen for her just because she was pretty. It was just sickening. Kouki and Kamichi were meant for each other, and none of this would have happened if Kamichi hadn't fallen for Midori's prettiness _and _Kouki's personality at the same time.

Toshiro was also his best friend, ever since Toshiro had run away from his birthplace and moved to the Hidden Mist Village and became a ninja. Masakaru, Toshiro, and Midori had started Squad 101 when they weren't rogue ninja and were certified by the jonin running the Hidden Mist Academy. After being caught raiding a squad, the trio had run away and moved to the outskirts of the Hidden Mist Village. That was when Kouki had come to stay with them.

All in all, Masakaru had known Toshiro the longest, but never really looked up to him since Masakaru was always flying solo. So, he wouldn't call Toshiro a big brother or a little brother, but...sort of like a twin. One who always stayed with him and was friendly, yet had his differences and was firm. He really wasn't such a bad guy on the inside, despite what Kamichi had screamed at him before. Toshiro was a much more different person before Kamichi joined the squad. He was nice and easygoing then. Now, he was just a bully.

But, that wasn't Masakaru's main concern now. His main concern was getting out of this mysterious forest, otherwise he may never see Toshiro, Kouki, Kamichi, or Midori again.

But...who to ask for help? He couldn't just go up to some random guy from whatever village and say, "Will you help me, please? My rogue ninja comrades, who are all the way back in the Hidden Mist Village, are all fighting. Can you please come with me and break them up before someone gets seriously hurt or worse? Thanks."

Now _that _would be just rediculous.

_**...Back In The Hidden Mist Village...**_

"Yaaaahh!! Wh-what the...?!" Midori cried, breathless as Kouki stood and loomed over her, grinning evilly. "Y-you shouldn't be standing up!! I...I beat you up! I half-destroyed you! You- you're all...bloody and stuff! Wh-what are you going to do?!"

Kouki just laughed in a maniacal voice that sent an unpleasant shiver down Midori's little delicate spine.

"D-didn't you hear me?! What are you going to do?!" The exausted, frightened girl asked Kouki. She was sitting on the wet, muddy ground, shivering uncontrollably.

"_You want to know what I'm going to do to you?!_" Kouki cackled in a monsterous voice, her wounds starting to steam and rapidly heal. "First, Midori, I'll tear all of your limbs from your body. THEN, while you're screaming and gushing blood, I'll shut you up by using my claws to rip your pretty little head right off! Then, well, I doubt you'll be alive to see me rip your heart from your corpse's remains. Lastly, I'll squish that bloody black hole of stupidity right between my fingers! Doesn't that sound just delightful?" It wasn't even Kouki speaking anymore. It was a monster, taking over Kouki's original personality.

Midori screamed bloody murder as Kouki's form started to change into a hideous snake-like creature, only it had and arms and legs with horrible claws that could easily rip through the toughest skin. Two huge fangs were released, with sticky, black, poisonous goo. The Void Kunai absorbed into her new form. "Ahh-aaahhhh! Koukiiiii!! St-stop it!" She screamed, frightened half to death.

_"What, you want to forfeit all of a sudden? C'mon, Midori, the fun's just begun!" _The monster cackled. Kouki's inner thoughts didn't even matter now. It only mattered what the shimmering black snake (that matched the Void Kunai) wanted to do with Midori.

"Aaaahh! Nooo! I don't wanna die!! I-I give up! Please, Kouki! I-I'm sorry! For everything!! I...I promise I'll never, ever, ever bother you again! Just please don't rip my head off!" Midori pleaded, standing up and stepping back from the huge reptile-like monster that was about that was about to come after her. The monster was definatley big enough to devour her. Maybe not in one chomp, but still.

"Hehehehehh..." The monster laughed, four more arms popping out from Kouki's new oversized snake-like body.

"Wha...what are you?" Midori asked in a hushed, frightened whisper as the now violent winds blew her hair into her eyes, making them blurry and teary.

"I'm Kouki's inner spirit...and your fate."

"Wwaaaaaaaahhhh!" Midori screamed at the top of her little voice as Kouki's inner monster lunged at her with the intent to destroy her with all of it's might.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"Wooooaah!" Kamichi cried as he was whisked up into the air at top speed, suddenly caught in the middle of a highly elevated mini-tornado that Toshiro had managed to create with his powers. Suddenly, a bunch of huge boulders (that came out of nowhere) were dangerously spinning around in the tornado as well as Kamichi.

"Hahaahaaa!" Toshiro laughed, pointing at Kamichi, who was caught in his attack. "You'll never break through there! In a matter of hours, you'll be beaten and crushed to smitherines by my boulders!"

Kamichi couldn't respond with the high speed winds blocking the sound coming from his throat. He couldn't even see straight anymore. He was already feeling woozy, just watching the boulders spin around him over and over and over again..._This...this is torture! I'm gonna die! Those rock will- _"OOF!" Kamichi had his breath knocked out of him as a huge, irregularly-shaped boulder crashed into his chest at a super-high speed. Blood spurted from his mouth.

Toshiro just smirked as he watched the show from below. This wouldn't take very long.

"Aaaaaah!" Kamichi cried as another, smaller one blasted him in the side of the head. Kamichi struggled to keep consciousness.

"You gonna give up, Kamichi?" Toshiro asked, smiling because of his certain victory. "I will let you live if you promise to give in and promise to never challenge me or go near Midori ever again!"

"N-n-noooo!" Kamichi's desperate voice echoed from the spinning tornado in mid-air. "I...oof! Can...can out of th-this myself! Y-you just wait!"

"Ooh, really?" Toshiro crossed his arms, grinning. "Let's see ya do it, then!"

_Uugh...THINK, Kamichi! There's a thunderstorm going on just above your head...and...you're trapped in the middle of a tornado that you can't get out of. Wait a sec...electricity...that's it! _Kamichi struggled to move his fingers into a few quick hand signs and managed to squeak out, "Water Gun Justu!" He turned his floating body (which was hard because it was under major wind pressure) so it would face the storm directly above him. He sprayed the water into the air, and it fell back down and landed all over his bloody clothes. Now, he was wet. All he had to do was wait...

"Wh-what...what's he doing?!" Toshiro whispered in shock. "He's such an idiot, getting himself all wet like that! He'll be struck by-"

_BLAM!! _A huge jolt of lightning hit the tornado, striking Kamichi in all directions, his insides on fire. Kamichi struggled to do what he needed to do before time ran out and he would be burned to death...he had to control and gather the electric atoms and divide them equally among his body to create...

Kamichi opened his eyes and looked down at himself. _That's it!_

"An Electric Sheild?! What the heck?! Aww, c'mon! He takes the fun out of everything!" Toshiro screamed in fury, stamping his foot on the wet, muddy ground. _And yet...it was such a smart move. He knew that the rain itself wouldn't get him wet enough to be struck by lightning since the wind was repelling it from him. Anybody who is strong and focused enough can make a body sheild of just about everything. All's you have to do is control all of your chakra points, engolf your body in chakra, and make the particles of your sheild material stick to the outside of your body. I wish I had such ability..._

It hurt very badly, but he had done it. Kamichi had made himself Electric Sheild over his entire body, empowering him greatly. The Electric Sheild didn't have such a good effect for kunais, but it did on humans.

With his newly obtained power and speed, the wind pressure on Kamichi suddenly went to zero, and he zoomed out of the tornado, flying straight for Toshiro, fist at the ready. "Told yaaaaa!"

"Nooo! How...how could this happen?!" Toshiro cried, but dodging out of the way as Kamichi smoothly landed on the ground with his electric-blue and glowing yellow-green sheild. "My justu...is supossed to be flawless! N-Nobody gets out of there untill they give up or die!" He said, taking a tiny step back from his angry opponent.

Kamichi responded by giving him an Electric Sheilded glower.

"Ahh, you just got lucky because you were so high up and close to the storm!" Toshiro laughed, trying to show as much bravado as possible. "You still can't beat me!"

"We'll see about that..." Kamichi growled, charging right at Toshiro with amazing speed with another fist ready to strike.

Toshiro dodged out of the way just in time, but Kamichi appeared on the other side of him and delievered a hard punch to his face. Toshiro cried out and was blown about twenty feet away from the impact. He slammed right into the metal pole, denting it and collasping to the ground. Toshiro's cheek was now lightly burned and heavily bruised from the brutal punch.

Kamichi stomped over to him, the glare still not leaving his face. Toshiro gulped.

Kamichi picked Toshiro up by his shirt collar with one hand. He slammed his fist right into the center of Toshiro's face. Toshiro tried to force himself not to shed any tears, but it didn't work. It just hurt really, really bad. Luckily, Kamichi couldn't tell that Toshiro was crying from the pain because of the rain pouring down on the both of them.

Kamichi dropped Toshiro flat on his face and then Toshiro recieved a critical crash to the ribs. Toshiro couldn't help whimpering a little bit.

"Does that hurt??" Kamichi asked in a cruel whisper, slamming his fist in the back of his head again. Fighting again had triggered the darker, more angry side in Kamichi's already broken heart. Besides, this guy deserved it. He practically had the word 'jerk' written all over him (in permanent marker) 24/7.

Toshiro's hand still lingered on the dented, metal pole that he had slammed into just few seconds ago. _If...uggh...if only I could make one of those sheilds... _He thought desperatley, reciveing blow after blow and electric shocks from Kamichi. _My...mom always old me that a person could never try to do something that they weren't designed to do. Otherwise...they'd get hurt. Just like how...the Hidden Sound Villagers tried to do something THEY couldn't do, which was win the war against the Hidden Rock Village...and they all got hurt. When they finally gave up the war...they earned something in exchange...the strongest, healthiest newborn baby that they could find... That was Kamichi. Why couldn't it have been me?_

_But...who cares about what my mother said?! _Toshiro thought angrily, hand clutching the metal post. _ Everyone knows that they could get hurt by trying something they know that they can't do. If you tried flying by jumping off of a cliff, you would get hurt, even if you believed you could. But..._

_Then again..._

_Getting hurt doesn't exactly mean that you've lost._

_**...Meanwhile, In The Depth Of A Flickering Mind...**_

_"Hikaru...why have you stopped trying?"_

_A familiar voice was ringing in Hikaru's head. He was physically knocked out and was suffocating, but his inner thoughts were not unconscious (in other words, dead). Yet._

_"Sissy?! I...I thought you were...suspended..."_

_"I am, but...this was an emergency. I don't care if I get in trouble. I don't want you to die."_

_"Yeah, Hikaru...don't go dying on us like that. We probably couldn't handle your shinanigans up here anyway!" _Another familiar voice cackled. _Hikaru recognized it as Zabuza's voice._

_"Hikaru...you must not give in to Naruto! I know you can do this! Your teammates are in danger! You need to get up and away from Naruto, and help them!" Hikaru heard Haku's voice ringing in his head as well as Tarina and Zabuza's._

_"But...I'm useless without the Midnight Demon..." Hikaru said sadly_. _"...Tarina, please lend me your power!"_

_"What's there to lend, Hikaru? You and I are the same! We have the exact same powers! Just make yourself get up and fight!" Tarina_ _pressed._ _"You're dying! You're losing blood, and the air in your lungs is all used up! Naruo's crushing your throat! You have to get up NOW, and fight!"_

_"Okay...I'm...I'm trying my hardest...owch! Wh-where's that screaming coming from?! It sounds horrible!"_

_"It's...Omari..." Tarina said grimly. "Hikaru...do you...remember what I told you about five years ago? About Omari...?"_

_"Yes..." Hikaru said, tears of pity somehow welling up in his still closed eyes. Now he _knew _that he had to get up and help them before something horrible happened. Omari could go back...to the person that she was before. "I...I remember."_

_**...Back In The Hidden Leaf Village...**_

Hikaru's shaking hands were suddenly moving torwards Naruto's hands, which were still wrapped around his neck. He grasped Naruto's wrist, and started to tug on them. His eyes popped open and turned a bright red color. _"Let...go of me."_

_"No! Not after what you did to Sasuke!" _Naruto turned to take a glance at Sasuke, who was still lying on the ground, with Sakura trying her best to help him out. It wasn't certain that Sasuke was going to live.

Hikaru knew what he had to do. This would cost him a week of not fighting or doing anything else ninja-related, but...if it saved his life, then it was worth it. Hikaru put his hands in a shaky hand sign. He hoped with all of his heart that he could pull this off.

_"Secret Jutsu: Supernova Laserbeam!"_

"What?!" Zamu cried, alarmed. "He...he can't do that!! That's a Sannin-level attack! Even Tarina can't do it without becoming weak! He's just a kid! He'll never pull that off without stunning himself and becoming physically disabled!" If that ever happened, then it would only be temporary, but still. _There is never anything stopping something from going wrong._ That was Zamu's motto. A worry-wort's motto, but it was as true as anything.

Hikaru almost flinched when he felt all of his remaining chakra painfully tingle as it traveled up through his entire body, all the way up to his mouth. It instantly gave him a headache and numbed his mouth completley. How did Tarina ever manage to put up with that? He felt all of the chakra form into a powerful, violet-mixed-with-silver sphere, forcing him to open his mouth and release the Supernova Laserbeam.

A huge burst of blazing-hot chakra came from his mouth without burning him at all. The Supernova Laserbeam blasted Naruto in the chest, sending him flying into the air. He landed about twenty feet away, which was near Sakura and Sasuke. Kakashi gasped and ran over at once. Naruto's red chakra was automatically deactivated, and he now lay on the ground in a heap, moaning. The red chakra was the only thing that kept him from dying right on the spot.

Hikaru was now gasping for breath, between Naruto nearly choking him to death before, and the amazing amount of chakra he had just used up on a single attack. He rolled over onto his stomach and tried to lift himself up. He moaned and flopped back down on his stomach. Zamu and Slicer came running to help him, but he had managed to get himself up before they arrived.

Slicer, Zamu, and Hikaru couldn't pay attention to what had been done to Naruto in the attack. They had to go help Omari, who was now laying in a puddle of blood, motionless.

"O-Omari?!" Hikaru asked worriedly to the girl who was laying on her side, back turned to them. He hoped she wasn't dead or anything.

Omari shuddered as a response.

"Omari?" Zamu asked softly, bending down and reaching out to tap her shoulder.

"Raaawr-aarr!" Omari screeched, whipping around and snapping at Zamu's hand. Huge, blood-covered fangs had grown from her mouth and her eyes were a bright green. The two rabbit-like ears from her inner monster had popped out and were now twitching like mad. She looked like she was just about ready to release her Kekkei Genkai.

All because she tried to make a Light Kunai?

Zamu gasped and yanked his hand back before she got the chance to bite it. He took a step back, along with Slicer and Hikaru.

"Uuuaah!" Hikaru yelped, jumping back as Omari growled at them once more and turned back onto her side to suck on her gushing hand once more. "Wh-what the heck is the matter with her?!? ...Eeeew, is she drinking her own blood?! Wh-why is she doing that?!"

Kakashi stood from his kneeling position, deciding that Naruto would be okay. He was already waking up, anyway. Kakashi briskly walked over to them and stood next to Hikaru to look down at Omari, who seemed more interested then drinking all of the blood from her hand and the ground than defeating Squad 7. Hikaru looked up at Kakashi the Copycat, shuddered in annoyance and disgust, and took a step away from him as well.

"I...don't get it. Wh-what's happened to her?" Slicer asked, eyes widened. "What is she doing?!"

"So...it really is her..." Kakashi whispered in awe, fixing his headband so it covered his Sharingan again. "So...that's why the blue-haired kid that had come before...had risked her life to save Omari."

"What?! H-how do you know?!" Slicer yelled accusingly at Kakashi, then, looked at Zamu for a second with a confused look on his face. "Wait...what _does _he know?"

Zamu shrugged.

Kakashi sighed. "This...Omari that you know of..." Kakashi started.

"What do you mean by that?! You're talking as if she's an alien or something!" Hikaru said angrily. "Just spit it out!"

Kakashi looked down at Omari (who was now starting to giggle and enjoy her bleeding hand by licking at it excitedly) with something scornful in his eyes, yet filled with so much pity. "Nobody really knows what's wrong with this girl. All I can tell you is what happened."

_**...Flashback!...**_

_**...About 9 Years Ago...**_

_The town was ablaze._

_Hundreds of non-shinobi villagers were running away from their homes, screaming, while the others lay dead in bloody heaps on the ashy ground. It was just a bit past midnight._

_The tiny demon-like child, dagger in her mouth, bolted torwards another person who was running away from the village. She took the dagger out of her mouth and tackled the poor man to the ground before he even knew what had hit him. She ripped his heart out, then started to claw at his remains. Her eyes were a bright green. Little blue rabbit-like ears had popped out of her head. Her body was changing and getting stronger for every person's heart she ripped out. _

_The jonin shinobi squads that were sent on a mission to destroy her hurled weapons in her direction. One of them was Kakashi Hatake, whatching the horrible massacre that would never end unless they stopped the child who was destroying all of the innocent villagers._

_Nobody knew where this 'Demon Child' had come from. Nobody knew how or where she was born, or if she was some kind of mutant._

_Kakashi stared at the scene in horror while the other Hidden Leaf shinobi hurled weapons in her direction. He had been expecting a brutal mission to protect this poor, non-shinobi village, but he had never seen anything like this. This was just madness. He suddenly spotted the mass-murdering, demonic little girl was chasing after a two-year-old boy, who was screaming for his mother (who was probably already dead)._

_"Noooo! Stop!" Kakashi cried out, instantly snapping out of his trance. He was racing torwards the demonic girl who had raised the dagger over the little boy's chest._

_"Rrr...raaaawr!" The girl roared, slashing Kakashi across the stomach with a huge claw and knocking him backwards. The girl's skin had turned a bright blue._

_Kakashi couldn't look. He tried to cover his ears, but nothing could ever cover the little boy's scream and the ripping, fleshy sound of someone's insides being taken out. The air was heavy with the smell of blood and ashes. Once the girl's next job was done, she glared at Kakashi one more time, instinctively deciding that she had warned him enough to stay away. It was clear that the child didn't want anything to do with the Hidden Leaf shinobi. She just wanted the people who lived here to die. Kakashi just stared._

_The Demon Child started to run away for another woman and her newborn son. Kakashi couldn't move to help them. His stomach was throbbing, as if there was some kind of poison in the little girl's claws. "Wha...what is she? I don't understand...what does she want with this village? She can't possibly be human!" He said to himself in a frightened, hushed whisper._

_Then...one brave and powerful shinobi took out a jar. He took out a normal kunai, opened the jar, and dropped it in the jar filled with a ultra-rare, sticky, yellow substance that was almost impossible to obtain and hard to keep without somebody stealing it before you could use it._

_The regular kunai turned into a Light Kunai, one of the most powerful weapons in the world. The shinobi man took the Light Kunai out of the jar and threw the now empty jar on the ground. He took careful aim, and hurled it right at the demonic little girl just as she was about to kill the mother and screaming newborn child._

_The Light Kunai stabbed the little girl in the hand which held the dagger. The Demon Child dropped her weapon screamed a scream that nobody had ever heard before. Her skin lost it's blue lust, her ears receeded back into her normal human form. The area where the Light Kunai had hit her was hissing and bubbling and her body was now thrashing and convulsing madly as if someone was trying to restrain her._

_About three other Hidden Leaf shinobi cautiously walked over to the madly thrashing little girl, a weapon in each hand. There was no doubt that they meant to kill her. Kakashi felt a pang of guilt for the little girl, because she never had a life of her own. Maybe she didn't know why she was killing everybody. Maybe she was sorry, or couldn't help it. Maybe somebody made her like that on purpose. He felt that nobody had a right to kill her without knowing more about her, but there was nothing he could do. Besides, if he stopped the three shinobi about to kill her, then hundreds more could end up dead in the future._

_The demonic girl suddenly stopped thrashing and screaming and looked up at the three men who were about to kill her. She had her gushing hand in her mouth (the Light Kunai had fallen off and had sunken into the ground). She seemed to be enjoying the taste of the wound. It was calming her down. She only looked to be about five or six years old. Blood was still streaming from her mouth._

_The girl reached into her pocket with her non-wounded (but still bloody) hand, and pulled out something. She offered it to one of the shinobi, who gagged and backed up as she held it out to him. Kakashi, who was watching from afar, strained to see what it was. It was a clump of bloody, gushy veins that she had probably taken out of one of her victims. Kakashi took another look at the nonchalant girl holding her bloody 'present' and vomited. It was just repulsive. How could such a little girl (if that's what she was) be so violent?_

_"This...this demonic child shall die immediatley!" The still gagging shinobi cried, raising the shaky kunai over the demonic girl, who was still lying on the ground. _

_A frightened look grew in the little girl's eyes as soon as she saw the kunai, and she searched wildly for her dagger. But it was no use. It was midnight, and the bloody, dirty dagger was nearly impossible to find now. She was done for._

_"Waaaaaiit! Stooop! Don't hurt her!" A young voice called, rushing to the scene out of nowhere. The small, blue-haired girl had a ninja headband on her head, but nobody could see where she was from because of the darkness. She looked about 13 years old. She looked up pleadingly at the three shinobi who were gathered around the frightened girl, who was expecting to die at any moment. "Please...please don't hurt her."_

_"Who are you?!" One of the Leaf shinobi growled, drawing a kunai against her. "What village are you from, and why have you come here?!"_

_"I...I've come for her! This 'Demon Child' that you speak of!" The blue-haired girl requested bravely. "Please! Just let me take her away from here!"_

_"This horrid girl cannot live any longer! She's only brought terrible destruction to this innocent village. Hundreds now lay dead and more than half the buildings around here are on fire!" Another shinobi piped up._

_"Horrid? But...look at her. She's a beautiful little girl." The young teenager whispered, looking down at the child with a soft look in her eyes. "She needs to be taken away from here...she just needs love."_

_"Beautiful?! Little girl, you just can't take a mass murdering demon child and take care of it just because it's cute! Did you see what went on for the past hour?!"_

_"Yes, I did. And I think that this girl would become a powerful shinobi if she was under my care. She has hope, just like everybody else does. She just can't be killed and tossed away while you guys celebrate! You have to make even the worst of things useful and better than before! There's hope for everything and everybody!" The blue-haired girl cried._

_Kakashi listened intently to the firm girl arguing with the shinobi over whether they should let the tiny, bloodshedding child live under the care of her or not. He wasn't sure what to think at all._

_"How do we know that you're just after world domination?! That you just want to bend this girl's powers so you can use them for your own agenda to take over?! What if you were working for somebody that we don't trust!?" One of the three suspicious shinobi asked the blue-haired girl, kunai still drawn over the smaller, bloodsucking one._

_"Look into my eyes. My eyes are the windows to my soul. Now, do you really believe that I would use this girl's power to take over other villages?" The blue-haired girl asked._

_"Wh-who are you, anyway?" The shinobi asked._

_"I can't tell you that...because I really don't know." The blue-haired girl said quietly. Then, she looked up at the three leading shinobi with a feirce look in her eyes. "That's why we need each other! We can find who we are together! It'll be our mission. I could help her."_

_"That's it! I have no patience for strange little girls who want to steal this demon away from our grasp!" One of the lead shinobi screamed, slashing at the blue-haired girl with a kunai._

_The teenage girl dodged in a flash, knocked out the shinobi, grabbed the little monster child, and made a run for it._

_All of the shinobi who had come on the mission gasped and their heads turned to see the blue blur dash away. They would have run after the blue-haired kid, but she was way too fast for them._

_"...Noooooo! She's gone! She's gotten away with that little demon girl! The world is doomed!" A shinobi screamed, slapping his hands to his head and falling to his knees. "We've FAILED!" He screamed, and all of the others took up the cry._

_All except for Kakashi. For some reason...he didn't feel threatened at all by the little demonic girl escaping with that mysterious blue-haired kid. He somehow had a feeling that the little girl was in good hands._

_**...Back To The Present...**_

_**...Back To The Hidden Leaf Village...**_

"Oh, that?" Hikaru said, hand on his chin, seemingly unaffected by the horrid, yet touching tale. By that point, Naruto, Sakura, and the partially healed Sasuke (who could barely run) had joined the group and listened to the story. Everybody seemed calm now, knowing that this was no time for fighting. "Yeah, I know all about Omari. My sister told me about her."

"Wait a minute...you are that girl's brother?! The one who ran away with Omari and died here several months ago?" Kakashi asked in shock.

"...Yeah." Hikaru said. "But I died like, one year later."

"What?" Kakashi looked confused.

"My sister -her name's Tarina- killed me a little more than one year after she rescued Omari. Tarina saw of it as Omari saving _her, _though, but...anyway, she killed me because the demon that used to be inside of me partially released itself. I almost destroyed the whole Hidden Mist Village twice. So...after experiencing all of that, Omari's tale really doesn't bother me." He shrugged.

"So...it was you who almost destroyed the Hidden Mist..." Kakashi said in wonder. "You were the one who possessed the Midnight Demon!" He gasped in sudden realization. "Which means that Tarina had the Sunrise Demon stuck inside of her, right?"

"Yes."

"Oh! Now...it all makes sense to me..." Kakashi said. "But...I still don't get how you came back to life."

"Well, I was kind of dead and sort of...'not dead' at the same time..." Hikaru said, not sure how to put it. "I actually died of something mixed with betrayal and hatred and heartbreak because Tarina actually attacked me. In the ghost life, Tarina's reassuring love brought me back, I guess."

Slicer and Zamu were looking at the ground, shocked. Neither one of them had known anything about Omari's sick past. It was just so sad...and so scary...and yet so confusing at the same time. Their feelings for Omari weren't very much changed, but they now felt a bit weird. They knew Omari would never hurt them, but still.

"So...now...what about Omari?" Slicer asked quietly, looking down at the trembling girl. Her hand had stopped bleeding, but her eyes were wide open. She was as spooked as ever.

"I'm...trying to remember what Tarina told me." Hikaru said. "How she managed to calm her down."

"Wait! First of all, does Omari even know about what happened back then?!" Naruto asked with a confused look on her face.

"Oh, that's right!" Hikaru said, suddenly remembering. "Tarina told me that she had given her some milk-like healing drink that would help to calm her down and heal the wound on her hand after she had cleaned her up. Omari actually ended up passing out after drinking it, then waking up and remembering nothing at all!"

"Well, I'm sure Omari's not gonna remember anything any more than what she did after Tarina had given her that drink." Zamu said. "She should be okay, right?"

"Right." Hikaru said, nodding. "She was temporarily going back to her previous stage as a...whatever. I'm sure she wont know why. But...I kinda feel weird with us all knowing what Omari really was like in the past, and she doesn't have a clue. I don't like keeping secrets very much."

"Me, neither..." Slicer replied with a sigh. "But, we have to. It'll be best for her." He spoke in a low voice just to make sure that Omari's twitching rabbit ears wouldn't pick up their conversation.

"But...I just don't get it. What exactly _is _Omari?" Naruto asked, scratching his head. "I mean, where did she even come from? I just think it's kind of sad that none of us will never know so she can never be fully cured from her past."

"Nobody will ever know that, I guess..." Zamu said sadly. "All I know is, we have to stay here and try to heal and fix her hand up. we'll just tell her that...Light Kunais aren't really her thing."

"The same thing would have happened to me, anyway." Hikaru shrugged, then sighed in a sort of disappointed tone. He turned to Kakashi and looked up at him with a serious look in his eyes. "Well...I guess there's only one thing to do."

"Hmm? What's that?" Kakashi asked, confused.

Hikaru stuck out his hand. "Truce?" If they went on fighting, nothing good would ever come out of it.

Kakashi almost smiled. He put his hand in Hikaru's and shook it. "Truce."

_**...Back In The Hidden Mist Village...**_

"Yaaaahhh! Aaaahh!! Koukiiiii!" Midori screamed as the monster dove at her again with it's mouth open, trying to eat her.

Midori dodged out of the way just in time, but she was still breathless and weak and muddy. The snake-like monster's head slammed into the ground, tasting dirt. It rose once again, spitting out the muddy debris from the rainy ground and coming after her again.

"No! No! No! NO! Please! Don't hurt me!" Midori screamed in desperation, taking out every single weapon of hers and hurling them at the snake monster all at once. Half of the weapons didn't even fly near the snake since Midori was too frightened to pay attention to her aim. They just landed on the muddy ground in a heap, and the rest of the weapons bounced off of the snake like rubber.

Midori gasped.

The snake lunged at her again with it's arms out, trying to grab at her. Midori dodged, but got mildly slashed on the neck by one of it's razor-sharp claws. Midori screamed and clutched her neck, thinking that her head was going to fall off, which obviously wasn't going to happen. (Midori was just being...Midori.)

Midori fell to the ground, sobbing. "Please...please don't kill me..." She whispered pleadingly, tears streaming down her frightened face.

That was when the inner Kouki looked back upon some of the kinder moments between she and Midori. Even the greatest of all rivals shared their tender moments together.

Just like when all of the juvenile rogue ninja squads working for Gato had gathered for a meeting/examination session, a few girls from other squads had picked on Kouki because she had messed up her Water clone Justu in front of Gato. They just wouldn't stop picking at her and calling her a weakling. Finally, as soon as Kouki was about to be beaten up, Midori stepped in and defended her, scaring the three girls away by just being there. Squad 101 was well known between the more juvenile rogue ninja squads, after all.

Then, there was the time where an older, much meaner teenage rogue ninja squad had tried to raid them before. Kouki, as the youngest and newest team member, had been hiding up in her room, unaware of her enemies lurking right behind her. When one teenager tried to snipe her from behind, Midori had jumped in just in time, caught the attack, and beat him senseless. That was a long time ago.

Finally, there was the time that Kouki was very ill and had to stay in bed for at least a week. When the team was assigned to a very important mission, Midori decided to stay at the hideout to tend to Kouki's sickness, and not to mention keep her company while Masakaru and Toshiro completed the task.

_"I...don't want to kill her..." _The inner Kouki told the demon inside of her quietly. _"Let me just turn into...my own body again. We already know that I won. I realized that don't want to hurt her too much, so just...stop. Please?"_

_"Hah, hah! You just feel that way because you're looking back on the few times that Midori seemed like she actually cared for you! You know, Kouki...with rivals, you must always remember that there were more bad times than good." _The snake-like demon silently told the young human entrapped inside of it.

_"Why can't I just go by the times that she was actually nice to me and not hurt her?"_

_"...Because if you only went by the few good times and forgot about the bad, you would barely know her or have a reason to fight her at all. That's how much she hated you. Don't you want to do away with the people who disrespected you and hated you? We must get done with the job, Kouki!!" _The demon said.

_With rivals...there are always more bad times than good...otherwise...you wouldn't have a reason to be rivals at all..._ Kouki thought, then suddenly remembered how Midori had slapped her so many times earlier this afternoon and had made her nose bleed and almost made her cry.

The very thought enfuriated Kouki. The snake-like demon started to glow and a horrible glare planted itself on it's face, petrifying Midori. She couldn't even move anymore. She only felt her heart fluttering madly.

The monster attacked Midori, scratching and slashing and snapping at her wildly. The only thing Midori could do was put up with it...and scream. It was absolute torture. Midori had never experienced an attack more painful in her life, with the poison-injecting claws and fangs, the pain was almost unbearable.

Kouki's inner demonic spirit attacked untill Midori was half-dead, then pick up her still form, raise the arm the monster was and hurl her to the ground. It felt very, very good, yet so bad at the same time. Revenge was finally Kouki's. It made her feel horrible that she did such a thing to poor Midori, but her feelings of triumph and happiness washed over the guilt as she finally returned to her normal form to look down at Midori.

"Mm..." Midori moaned. She then spit out a heavy glob of dark blood and closed her eyes. Her stomach had been severley bitten by the monster's huge fangs and poison was seeping into the wounds. Poisoned slashes criscrossed her chest, legs, arms, neck, and torso. She was defeated and was in critical condition. She could die at any moment. Even if she tried moving or rolling over on her stomach or something, she could die.

Kouki had won...but...perhaps that wasn't enough for her. Kouki was covered in her own blood, Midori's blood, the black, gooey venom (which she was immune to). All of her wounds were completley healed, though, due to the full transformation into the demonic snake-like creature. She stepped over to Midori with the Void Kunai still in her hands. Midori slowly and drowsily opened her eyes. They widened at the sight of the shiny weapon.

Kouki raised the Void Kunai over Midori's head...

Midori gasped slightly and squeezed her eyes shut, ready for the pain and eternal darkness coming her way.

But...there was no pain. There was...nothing.

Midori slowly opened her eyes to see Kouki's kunai just inches from her face. Kouki's hand was shaking. Kouki sighed, removed the kunai away from Midori's face, and stuffed it back in her pocket.

"Wh-wha...? Wh-why didn't you..." Midori croaked.

"Forget it, Midori...you're not worth the trouble." Kouki just shook her head and glared at her.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"Aaaaagh!! Why can't...I...make...this...Metal...Sheild?!" Toshiro blurted at the top of his lungs, grasping the skinny, metal pole so hard that it snapped in half and fell over.

Toshiro's outburst sort of suprised Kamichi, who let go of his bloodied shirt collar and just stared at him.

Toshiro started to cry. "It's not fair! Why can't I be you?! Why couldn't I be the baby who was sent away?!" He sobbed, not even bothering to wipe his bloody, teary, and muddy face. "Look at me. I'm beaten bloody. You've got an Electric Sheild and you're not even CLOSE to being out of chakra yet! It's just...so messed up! Why did I have to be born a weakling!?"

Kamichi didn't know what in the world to say. He definatley wasn't going to comfort Toshiro. And, while he was crying, it just didn't feel right to start beating up on Toshiro again. Kamichi wanted to finish beating him up, after all that Toshiro had done (or tried to do) to him, but still. Toshiro was going through a very emotional moment...what was he going to do?

As Kamichi was thinking, Toshiro suddenly screamed at the top of his voice, "Aaaaaaaaahh! This is so not fair! I...I should kill you for this, Kamichi!! Why did I have to come across you in the first place?! You totally messed me up...I...uugh..._I hate myself!!_"

"T-Toshiro..." Kamichi said in a neutral tone, reaching out for him. Suddenly, after taking another look at his opponent, he yanked his hand back, stood up and took a big step back. "Wooooaaahh!! Toshiro! E-Easy, dude!"

"Uugh...I don't care if this costs me my life..." Toshiro growled, slowly standing from his place on the ground. "At least I'll die knowing that I have the ability to do so..." He said, controlling his chakra points so they were pushing themselves to the outside of his body, along with his own blood...

"Toshiro?! Wh-what are you doing?! S-Stop it! Don't you realize that doing that will kill you?! Does winning matter that much to you?" Kamichi yelled, eyes widened. "If you want to win that badly, then I'll gladly give up!"

"No...that's not gonna happen, Kamichi..." Toshiro growled from his new Blood Sheild. "I wont stop untill I physically defeat you!" His chakra was now visible, floating around his blood-sheilded body, along with some streams of blood.

"Uuh...uh..." Kamichi stammered worriedly, knowing that there was no way out of this. He wished he had remembered the Play Dead Justu's hand signs...but, even then, Toshiro would know that Kamichi hadn't given it his all and was just faking it.

But now that the Blood Sheild was made...Toshiro was at the point of no return. He had used his own blood, fresh from his body, to make the sheild that he needed to make to fight. As soon as he dropped the sheild, he would immediatley die from blood loss. And he couldn't even wear the Blood Sheild forever to live, because no sheild gave you boundless chakra. If he tried keeping the sheild on to live, his chakra would eventually wear out, and he would have to drop the sheild and die at some point before he died of exaust.

Toshiro knew that he was going to die, and didn't care. His life was already ruined anyway. He wanted to prove himself brave and stronger than Kamichi. He knew that his sudden choice was stupid, and he probably wouldn't have picked it if he thought about it overnight. But now, there was no going back, and he was going to die.

_I'm already a dead man...I might as well start what I finished. _Toshiro thought before charging at Kamichi at full speed, which was faster than the still Electric Sheilded Kamichi could even blink.

Kamichi felt a quick, super-hard punch in the back of the head, knocking him flat on his face. Kamichi quickly stood, glaring at the Blood Sheilded Toshiro, who was standing right in front of him. Toshiro wanted a fight as his last wish, and it didn't matter if he won or lost. Kamichi would give him that fight.

Kamichi dashed behind Toshiro and threw a jolt of lightning from his own palm, an attack he had never used before. Toshiro absorbed the lightning bolt involuntarily, and grinned from his wet, sticky sheild. He threw a huge, bloody punch right at Kamichi's face.

Kamichi caught it, which was exactly what Toshiro had wanted him to do. Tishiro used his other fist to sock Kamichi in the stomach, knocking him flat on his back. Toshiro jumped on top of him and threw over twenty super fast punches to Kamichi's face, chest, and stomach. Kamichi didn't even have time to cry out in pain before Toshiro suddenly reached over and ripped the Electric Sheild away from Kamichi's body and tossed it away as if it was a peice of litter.

_Wow...he's so strong! What makes the Blood Sheild so powerful?! I don't get it. How does a sheild made of your own blood make you faster?! Well...every sheild makes you faster no matter what, but at least the Electric Sheild's speed makes sense, because you move as quick as lightning! And...how come the Electric Sheild or any other sheild come with consequenses? I always thought that the Electric Sheild burned you or something after you're done, but it doesn't! It's so weird... _Kamichi thought hurriedly as he kicked Toshiro off of him and took out a normal kunai.

Toshiro threw a punch at Kamichi's face. Kamichi held the kunai out in front of his face, hoping that it would impale his hand. It didn't. Toshiro just smiled as the kunai was instantly absorbed into the sheild. Kamichi yelped and jumped back a bit. He took out five shuriken and hurled them in Toshiro's direction, aimed right for his eyes.

Toshiro dodged it, took out a Blood Kunai (it automatically came with the sheild- every weapon of his now had a Blood Sheild) and hurled it right at Kamichi's chest.

"Aah!" Kamichi yelled, ducking from the dangerous weapon.

"Hah!" Toshiro yelled, appearing out of nowhere and slamming his powerful fist into the side of Kamichi's head as hard as possible.

Kamichi managed to squeak out something that sort of sounded like "Aaaaaaowch!!" and skidded in the wet, slippery ground, and banged his head into a tree about forty feet away. Kamichi was instantly knocked out. He was unable to battle anymore, and Toshiro had won.

"Heh..." Toshiro laughed weakly, stepping over to the unconscious boy. "I finally did it..." He said to himself. "Too bad I wont get to live on with my victory..." He sniffled sadly, a single tear forming in his bloodshot eyes. He still had some of his chakra left, so his Blood Sheild could linger probably untill Kamichi woke up. Toshiro wanted Kamichi to wake up soon so he could rub it in his face that he had beaten him up.

Toshiro also wanted Kamichi to be the one who was near him during his final moments.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

It was amazing. A miracle.

Masakaru had actually made it to a village! Hour after hour of jumping over trees and lakes and rivers and rocks, he had finally found an establishment of civilization. He didn't know which village he was in yet, but he would ask a random bystander as soon as he had found one.

There.

Masakaru walked up to a kind-looking young woman of about twenty-five years old. She wasn't a shinobi. "Um...excuse me, ma'am. Can you please tell me which village this is? I'm kind of lost..."

The woman laughed, but it was a kind, gentle one that didn't sound threatening in any way. If the woman was being so nice and his headband was fully exposed, then this must have been an ally village. "This village? You don't know where you are? Oh, you poor thing. You're in the Hidden Leaf Village, honey."

"Thank you."

"Oh, my. You're from the Hidden Mist Village, honey? You must have come a long way to get here!" The woman said.

Should he ask her to help break up his friends and help him get back home? Nah. She probably didn't even know where the Hidden Mist Village was. Besides, what could a non-shinobi young woman do to break up to feircely fighting boys and two dangerous shinobi girls with the intent to kill one another?

They probably weren't even fighting anymore. The fights were probably over, and the two winners most likely arose already. But, he didn't care. He just needed somebody trustworthy to bring him back home, otherwise he'd be stuck forever in the Hidden Leaf Village. But who? He could be arrested as a rogue ninja if he didn't ask the right person.

"Um..." Masakaru turned to the kind lady. "Uh, thanks again, ma'am. I'd better get going."

"You sure you'll be alright by yourself? I mean, if you're really lost, you can come back to my house with me." The woman gave him a concerned look. She didn't like the thought of a lost little boy walking around a land he wasn't even familiar with all by himself.

Masakaru would love to stay with this pretty, kind young woman. Ever since he had joined Squad 101, he always wished he had a surrogate mother to take care of him and hug him and love him like a real mother would. Now was his one and only chance. But...he couldn't do it. He had to go back. For his teammates. Besides, who knew? One of them could be dying or something!

"Um...no thank you, ma'am." Masakaru said, sniffling lightly and tears welling in his eyes. He wanted to stay with this angelic-looking woman so badly...he wanted a mother. He never liked being a rogue ninja. It was too hard and lonely. "I have to get back home now. I-I'll be fine. Thanks again." He said with a final wave, and ran off down the street to look for that one impossible person to help him find his way home.

He turned another corner, and saw people off in the distance. Masakaru's eyes widened in hope. Just maybe...

Masakaru, out of breath, ran down the long, partially destroyed street to see who was down there. He really hoped it wasn't the Hokage or anybody important like that who would yell at him or arrest him for being there without a pass.

As soon as he saw who it was, he skidded to a stop. He was shocked. Could it be...? Was he hallucinating...?

Yes, it was! It was the Kingpin Kunais! Eyes full of happy tears, he rushed over to the famous squad, who were with another group of Leaf shinobi. Everybody turned to look at him as he arrived. He blushed slightly, suddenly feeling shy.

Omari, who Masakaru had heard was the leader of the Kingpin Kunais, was sitting up shakily with a freaked-out look on her face. He wondered why, but there was no time. He felt truly blessed. He had found Hidden Mist rogue ninja who were certainly capable of taking him home, and they were the Kingpin Kunais! He couldn't believe his luck.

"Uh...hi." Slicer said, giving him a weird look. Obviously, he had no clue who the kid was. "Can we help you?"

"Uh-I..uh...well, you see, I'm kinda..." Masakaru didn't know where to begin. He had never felt so shy and shocked in his life before. He had never imagined Slicer actually _talking_ to him.

"Hey...you're that dude...that was with Kamichi, right? On Halloween?" Hikaru asked.

Masakaru's eyes bulged. Hikaru remembered him! "Uh...uh...well, yes." He said proudly, blushing (although it was very unlike him to blush or be shy at all). "I am. But, uh, you see...there's...trouble."

Omari's gaze suddenly traveled from the ground to Masakaru. "Trouble?!" She asked in a concerned, yet weak tone. "Kamichi's in trouble?!"

"Well...sort of." Masakaru said, starting to get over his shyness. He was dead serious now. "You see, Midori, one of my teammates, challenged Kouki, who is a lower-ranked one. That triggered my leader's attitude, which triggered Kamichi's anger. Now...all four of them are fighting, there's nobody to referee or break them up, and I have no idea how to get home!"

Hikaru shuddered, remembering the horrid Halloween. "Ew..._Midori's_ over there?"

Masakaru couldn't help smiling at bit at Hikaru's disgusted attitude torwards Midori. "Uh...yeah. Midori's over there. But the problem is, I don't know whether they're all okay or not...I guess I got a little too worried and blindly ran off to tell somebody that they were all fighting." He shrugged sheepishly.

"...You...you don't like fighting, huh?" Omari asked him with a soft look in her eyes.

"No...I don't. I mean, I want to be a shinobi and all, but being on a violent all-kids squad is tough without an adult around. I guess...I want to fight, but maiming people every day and being with rough-acting kids made me not like fighting anymore." Masakaru said.

"We understand. Well, guys..." Omari said weakly to her teammates, standing up with the help of Hikaru. "This is just something that we can't say no to. We have to go and break them up."

"Wait!" Naruto exclaimed. "What about our fi- OWCH!" Naruto cried out as Sakura bopped him on the head.

"You idiot! We called a truce! We're not going to fight with them anymore!!" Sakura yelled in an aggravated tone.

Omari turned to Naruto, who was still rubbing his head. She walked up to him. "Naruto."

"Eh?" Naruto looked up at her with a partially nervous look on his face.

Omari sighed and stuck out her bandaged-up hand.

Naruto shook it. "Uh...and...what does this handshake mean?" He asked with a confused look on his face.

"It means truce, you idiot..." Omari grumbled, letting go of his hand. "It's a truce just between us. I'm sorry for being so rough on you, okay? I know that you didn't mean any harm. Alright?"

"Uh...sure..." Naruto said. "But...you still hate me, right?"

"Yes, Naruto. I still don't like you." Omari gave him a small smile.

Naruto had never seen anybody smile while saying that they hated him at the same time. He looked confused once again. "Uh...okay."

Omari, Slicer, Zamu, and Hikaru turned to Squad 7 (who now stood altogether) and bowed. Squad 7 politley bowed back.

"Well...we'd better get going now." Omari said, feeling a bit weird because a winner didn't emerge from either squads once again. Maybe they were just meant to stay away from each other. "We'd...stay longer, but we've got a little emergency to take care of here. Maybe...we can...visit you sometime..."

"But we'll get visitor's passes before we come in next time." Hikaru jumped in, smiling slightly. He gave a little wave. "Bye, Sasuke! Sorry I put a hole in your stomach."

Sasuke gave him a quick, dismissive wave, then started to pout.

Sakura just stared at Sasuke dreamily.

"Hurry, please!" Masakaru cried, starting to turn in the opposite direction. "I've been traveling for almost two hours!"

"Hours, you say?!" Omari cried, alarmed. "Oh, no! Kamichi's been fighting for hours?! We've gotta go save him! Uh, bye everyone! We'll remember you all when we're thrashing someone else who we hate!"

"Mm-hmm." Kakashi chuckled lightly. "Okay. You kids take care now..."

Omari, Slicer, Zamu, Hikaru, and Masakaru all ran off to the enterance of the Hidden Leaf Village, finally on their way back to their home village.

_**...Back In The Hidden Mist Village...**_

_**...A Few Minutes Later...**_

"Uuhn..." Kamichi moaned, his aching eyes fluttering open. The second he regained consciousness, the pain started setting in. He had a headache. He had a stomachache. Everything hurt. He was wet and muddy, but the sun was finally starting to come out...

Kamichi suddenly sat up quickly, remembering what had happened. He looked around frantically. "Toshiro!"

"Down here." A weak, grunting voice replied.

Kamichi looked down to see Toshiro laying on his back, looking as calm and as smug as ever. The Blood Sheild was gone, but he was still drenched in the remains of it. He looked so pale. "Toshiro..." Kamichi whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. "You...you won."

"Yeah, well...I sort of cheated, anywho. I mean, a Blood Sheild can beat all, right? Or..." Toshiro gave him a suspicious look. "Did you just let me win because you knew that I was going to die?"

"No, Toshiro...you beat me." Kamichi sighed truthfully, tears streaming down his cheeks. "You caught me off guard and you...knocked me out. I'm...I'm really sorry that it had to end this way..."

It was true. Toshiro had beat him at the last moment.

"Heh, heh. I guess I really did beat you, didn't I?" Toshiro lightly, weakly laughed. "I also made a stupid choice in dying just to beat you, huh?"

Kamichi sniffled.

"Dude...are you crying?" Toshiro croaked, raising one eyebrow.

"Y-Yes..." Kamichi sobbed. "I'm...I-I'm sorry this happened to you! You don't understand what I've been through that's made me this way. I'm sorry!"

"Oh, stop blubbering over me, kid." Toshiro grumbled, his face looking even paler than ever. He was now breathing heavily. The only thing moving on Toshiro was his chest, gently and slowly moving up and down. "I don't want you crying over my corpse for the next million years, you got that?" He grunted.

"How can you be so nonchalant?!" Kamichi screamed. "You're going to die! You don't have much blood left! The only thing keeping you alive right now is the strands of chakra you're using to equally divide your few blood cells and chakra remains amongst your weakened body!"

"Wow...you're smart." Toshiro coughed. "Heh...I know...that you feel...like you've killed me. But you haven't. I killed myself just to get to you. Not a very smart choice, huh? Anyway, it's not your fault. You're a really good kid...and...not a jerk..."

Kamichi just kept on crying.

"Shut up..." Toshiro coughed, his eyes starting to close.

"I...can't!" Kamichi wailed. "You're dying!!"

"Only...losers can't stop...crying in the...face of death." Toshiro said.

"I'm a loser! I'm such a loser!" Kamichi screamed, slapping his hands to his head.

"No, you're not..." Toshiro said in the most stern tone he could muster. He could feel his heart slowing, his body feel deprived of blood and oxygen... "Listen, kid...just...do me a favor..."

"What?"

"Tell Midori...that I love her...if...she's still alive." Toshiro squeaked out, coughing up some of his precious blood. "Please. And by the way, I really don't care if you or Masakaru has her for a girlfriend. I know she'd be in good hands either way. Just...tell her I love her for me, okay?"

"I...I will." Kamichi whispered, tears still running down his bright red cheeks.

"Thanks...Kamichi..." Toshiro whispered back hoarsely, closing his eyes for the last time. His face turned from slightly pained to an expression of eternal rest.

Kamichi flopped onto the ground and wailed.

Kouki, who was sitting on a tree stump, looked over at the crying Kamichi and Toshiro, who was lying on the ground. This was actually the first time she had noticed Kamichi. She knew it was sort of mean, just leaving poor, beaten Midori on the ground like that, but she had to go see what had happened between Toshiro and Kamichi. She stood from the tree stump, and walked over to them.

"K-Kamichi..." Kouki said in a hushed, shocked whisper, looking down at Toshiro's body. "Did you..._kill _Toshiro?"

"No...he did." Kamichi sighed sadly. "He forced himself to make a Blood Sheild just when I was winning...and...this was the result. He beat me fair and square...but died afterward because of the too-immense power and blood he summoned from himself."

"Wow..." Kouki said softly in a sad tone. She got down on her knees (not caring that she was kneeling in a bloody mud puddle) next to her leader's corpse and silently prayed for a little bit, kissing her hand and then placing it on Toshiro's cheek. After a few moments of respected silence, Kouki slowly stood again to face Kamichi. "So...you didn't win, huh? Well...that's okay."

"Well...what about you?" Kamichi asked in a soft, slow tone that was filled with sadness. "...How did your battle go?"

"I won." Kouki said with a small, proud smile. "But...I sorta cheated in a way. I have this...inner demon...rather than a normal Kekkei Genaki, you see. It beat up Midori without a problem."

"Where is she now?" Kamichi asked with a confused, concerned look on his face. For some reason, he hoped Midori wasn't dead or about to die. Maybe it was because he had a soft spot for her. Maybe it was because he wanted to tell her what Toshiro had asked him to tell her. Or maybe...maybe he had seen enough blood for one day.

Kouki pointed to her laying on the mushy ground, slightly twitching. Kamichi and Kouki walked over to Midori. Kamichi felt so upset now. He wanted to hold Kouki's hand, but it just didn't seem right. Not now, anyway. They both kneeled into the mucky ground and looked at Midori.

"K-K..." Midori weakly choked, blood gushing from her mouth. "Kouki...y-you beat me...you're...in second position now..." She grunted, tears forming in her eyes. "I...I'm sorry I ever doubted you..."

"It's...it's okay. Just...try not to talk too much or anything, okay? You might hurt yourself." Kouki said with an emotionless expression on her face. She brushed her short, dark purple bangs out of her face and sighed. "I just don't know how to get you to a doctor or anything...I don't know how we can help."

_"Kamichiiii!" _

_That voice! Omari!? _Kamichi thought with horror, whipping around to face the Kingpin Kunais breathlessly racing into the training feild with Masakaru. _H-How did they get here?! Why are they here?! Uugh! This feels so weird..._

At first, Masakaru was relieved to see that nobody was fighting. Then, with a gasp, he realized whose corpse was lying stiffly on the muddy ground. "Toshirooooooo! Noooo!" He cried with shock and fright, roughly shoving the mute Kamichi out of the way and running to mourn for his fallen leader and best friend.

"Kamichi!" Omari said breathlessly, running up to he and Kouki, almost stepping on Midori. "Are you okay?" She asked, reaching out for him.

"D-Don't touch me..." Kamichi said without showing much emotion, pulling away from her and backing up a few steps.

Omari's eyes instantly started to water and her lip quivered.

"Aw...c'mon, don't cry..." Kamichi said sheepishly. "Why have you come here anyway?"

"Well...Masakaru said that you guys were all fighting..." Hikaru said, his voice trailing off as Kamichi flashed him a threatening glare. He flinched.

Omari looked back and forth to the two boys, only somewhat knowing what was going on between them. She had missed so much on Halloween, it was pathetic. She wished she had gone trick-or-treating with Hiakru, after all...

And now, she might miss even more. With her wounded hand, she couldn't fight or go on any missions for about a weak. She also felt extra-sensitive and woozy lately. She also noticed that Zamu, Slicer, and Hikaru kept on flashing her concerned, "are you okay?" looks every five seconds. What did they know that she didn't? It must have been something about the way she had freaked out when her hand was gushing and she felt a sudden urge to eat it...

What _was _that, anyway? She was definatley missing something here...

Omari shook herself out of her horrid thoughts as she suddenly looked down and noticed poor, half-conscious Midori, laying by her feet, motionless. "Oh, my gosh!! What happened to her?!" She cried worriedly, kneeling down to look at her wounds (although she had absolutley no idea who she was).

"Well...looking at her's not gonna do us any good! She definatley needs to go to the hospital right away!" Zamu said in a grave tone. "Even my healing powers and supplies aren't going to help her. Man...those are some serious battle wounds. That must have been some fight!" He said, kneeling down to look at her, too.

Kamichi just looked down at them, stepping back a few feet. Should he tell Midori now? Or wait untill she got better?

"Wish I had been here to see it..." Slicer grumbled to himself. He hadn't seen or been through a good battle in a long time.

Kouki looked down at Midori and sighed. The guilt was coming in already. She felt as if she shouldn't have nearly killed her teammate...and stripped her of her job as second-ranked in Squad 101.

She was in second position of Squad 101 now, but...the squad barely exsisted anymore. Kamichi had challenged Toshiro. If Kamichi had won, then he would have became the leader, but he didn't win. Toshiro had complete victory over Kamichi but had died from blood loss right after he had done it. And Masakaru, for some reason, didn't look like he wanted to go on in Squad 101 without his best friend Toshiro as the leader, who was now dead. And who knew about Midori? Her shinobi days could be over, for all they knew.

"Kamichi..." Kouki whispered in a hushed manner. "...Does this make me the leader of Squad 101?"

"I...I honestly don't know..." Kamichi whispered, shaking his head. "I just don't know. Everything's fallen apart. Technically, I think it does mean that you're the leader, but not if you don't want to, of course."

"I don't want to be leader. I don't want to be the leader of anything." Kouki said quietly. "I could just give my position back to Midori or Masakaru or something, but...I don't know."

"Y'know, Kouki..." Kamichi said, slipping his hand into hers. "Somehow...I feel that we've... sort of ruined this squad."

"What do you mean?" Kouki asked softly.

"Well...Toshiro's dead, and he was the leader. And...I doubt that he was that much of a bad guy. He's just had a hard life. And Midori...you crushed her body, not to mention the both of us totally crushing her feelings by being together. And she was in second position, right after Toshiro." Kamichi said.

"That just leaves us low-ranked losers." Kouki whispered angrily, lightly kicking at the muddy ground. "Midori and Toshiro weren't in first position and second position just for their battle skills. They had courage...and leadership. Now, one of them is dead and the other can barely move and has an unpromising future. The only reason why we thought that their hearts were cold because we didn't realize that they were just broken...like ours."

"Hmm. You know...Toshiro asked me to tell Midori that he loved her as his final wish, along with me not 'blubbering over him'. I'm going to do it." Kamichi said.

"Now?" Kouki asked.

"No. It's too hard to do it now. I'll have to do it when Midori's settled in the hospital...if she's okay. You...you'll come with me, right?" Kamichi asked.

"Of course." Kouki replied.

Masakaru came up to the two of them with an angered, depressed look on his face. His eyes were streaked with tears. "T-Toshiro's...dead. M-My best friend..."

"I...I know." Kamichi whispered sadly, looking down.

"I hate you so much!" Masakaru growled breathlessly, shoving Kamichi to the ground but doing nothing more.

Kamichi didn't respond.

"Masakaru, Kamichi didn't do it!" Kouki said, alarmed. "Kamichi didn't hurt him at all. Toshiro made a Blood Sheild from his own blood and beat him! Toshiro knew he was going to die."

"Oh..." Masakaru whispered, helping Kamichi up and looking over at Toshiro's body from afar. "I-I'm sorry, Kamichi...I really don't hate you."

"It's okay. You didn't know." Kamichi said, dusting himself off. "What are you going to do now?"

"Find another squad." Masakaru sighed heavily. "After we bury Toshiro and find out about Midori, that is. I guess...Squad 101 doesn't exist anymore, does it?"

"Not really..." Kamichi said softly. "Nobody's certified to lead it, and there'll be nobody in it."

"Ahh, forget the rankings." Masakaru waved off. "It was a stupid thing, anyway. Rankings in a squad are just stupid and just let the superiors flaunt their power over the newbies. I mean, squads are just supossed to have one leader, with the rest of the members standing as equals. Some five-people squads can even have co-leaders, y'know, the person who would only be in charge if something happened to the original leader. Anything more than that's totally unfair...and can easily get messy."

"Yeah." Kouki and Kamichi said at the same time.

Kamichi looked back and forth at Midori and Toshiro. Two of Gato's most trusted workers. Gato was dead, but the person in place of Gato liked and trusted the both of them, too. He would never understand. "We are SO fired."

"You can say that again," Kouki said. "It's prohibited for squads like us to fight like that according to 'The Boss'. Gee, you'd think our boss wouldn't care if we died, huh? I guess he only cares about us because we're real hardworking ninja instead of the hundreds of worthless samurai that can get wiped out so easily around here..."

"Great. We don't have a squad anymore because there's no leader, and we're out of work." Kamichi sighed sadly, sniffling.

"I knew that right after I found out that Toshiro was dead and Midori was seriously wounded. That's why I'm going off on my own to find another squad." Masakaru said.

"Maybe...you and me...should stick together." Kamichi said quietly to Kouki in a shy tone, suddenly feeling that he had said something that made him sound desperate. "We can start our own squad."

"Yeah." Kouki said, blushing. Even though it sounded kind of weird, they would make a pretty good team...

"Anyway...I'm going to stay here and take care of Toshiro." Kamichi said in a quiet, grave tone. He turned to Kouki and Masakaru. "Will you guys stay with me or help with Midori?"

"All three of us can stay here and bury Toshiro. I think the Kingpin Kunais can take care of Midori. After we're done, we'll just head down to the hospital to see her." Masakaru said.

"Good idea." Kamichi said stonily, looking over at the Kingpin Kunais, who were now carefully carrying Midori away from the training site/battle field. He started to walk over to Toshiro's body, head down. "Let's get started, then."

_**o.o...Turn To The Next Chapter...AFTER READING THIS!!**_

_**Hey, remember what I said about The Lonely Remedy 2 being the longest chapter in the history of long chapters??**_

_**Well...o.o**_

_**I LIED!! Or, I was a bit off, to be exact. I'm terribly sorry, I had no clue how long this chapter really was going to be. I could have squeezed it into the final Lonely Remedy chapter (that's the next chap.) but I had other plans and events for Chapter 27. OK? Ok.**_

_**Oh!! More about the character names!! ;) I pulled Tarina's name out of nowhere, to be exact, but it has many different meanings. I looked her name up yesterday and it turned out to be Finnish. I really hope that I don't need to give you the pronounciation for Tarina's name, but just in case you REALLY need it, it's 'Tah-REE-na'. It originated from the name Tara or something like that. You know, it has so many different meanings on so many different baby name websites, that I can't remember any of them. **__**--'**__** More on that later. (LOL)**_

_**OK!! NOW IS THE TIME TO VIEW THE CLOSING OF THE LONELY REMEDY, WHICH REALLY TURNED OUT TO NOT BE A REMEDY AT ALL!! JUST GO TO THE NEXT CHAPTER (after leaving a review, please :)) IF IT'S THERE YET!! PREPARE YOURSELVES!! O.O**_

_**o.o...ARE YOU STILL HERE?! I SAID, LEAVE A REVIEW AND GO TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!**_

_**...(eats cookie)**_

_**...o.o!**_

_**...HEEEYY!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, STILL READING THIS!?! GIT OUTTA HERE AND READ THE NEXT CHAPTER OR SOMETHING!! LEAVE ME TO MY BOX OF COOKIES, MORTAL!! O.O **_


	27. The Lonely Remedy: 5: Awkward Departure

_**The Lonely Remedy: 5: The Awkward Departing...**_

_**...48 Hours Later...**_

The docters had done an amazing job of healing Midori. They had fixed her up like it was nothing, and her body was completley cleansed from the poison. She couldn't fight for a while, though. She had to give her wounds at least two weeks to heal completley. She now lay asleep on her hospital bed. She hadn't been awake much ever since the Kingpin Kunais had taken her to the hospital.

Hikaru, Omari, Zamu, and Slicer had been waiting in the hospital most of the time, taking turns leaving to go back to their hideout to change or something. Kamichi, Masakaru, and Kouki hadn't arrived yet since it was too dangerous to travel in the wind storm that had went on all day yesterday.

"They should be arriving soon..." Omari murmured, briskly checking her wristwatch while sitting in a chair near Midori's bed. The nurse had told them that Midori should be waking up soon, and Omari didn't want her waking up feeling alone (although she only knew who the girl was because of the awful story Hikaru had told her about Halloween).

Hikaru sat in the chair next to her, arms crossed. "Why can't I wait out in the waiting room along with Zamu and Slicer?" He whined in a whispery voice. "I don't like this girl. I actually fought with her! How do you think she's gonna feel when I'm the first thing she sees when she wakes up?!"

"Oh, relax, Hikaru..." Omari sighed dramatically. "It's not like she can do anything to you. Besides, you're the only person she would know here, right? I mean, if I was in her position, I sure wouldn't want to wake up to a bunch of strange people."

"What?! She'd recognize you any day, Omari! You're like a role model to her!" Hikaru exclaimed. "She's one of those Kingpin Kunai freaks who'd give anything to meet you."

"Oh...really?" Omari blushed. She had never known that their squad actually had fans. She shook herself out of her little moment and stood from her chair. "Well...when she wakes up, I'm sure she'll be starving. I'm going to pick her up something to eat from the cafeteria, okay? You just sit here and watch her."

"Huh?! Why me?!" Hikaru cried desperatley. "You know I don't get along with her! Y-You're just doing this to be mean, aren't you?"

"No, because you'd probably get _lost_ trying to find the cafeteria here, Hikaru." Omari laughed.

"Would not!" Hikaru shot back defensively.

"Okay, whatever." Omari shrugged, still smirking. "Just stay here and try not to make too much noise. I'll be right back." She said walking to the doorway. When she was out of the room, she quietly shut the door behind her.

Hikaru crossed his arms again, quietly grumbling to himself. "Why do I have to be stuck with the creepy fangirl, huh? Man...she had better not wake up before Omari gets back..." He glared at the clean, painted white wall of the hospital room. He wished he could turn on the television, but then Omari would come back and scold him for taking advantage of being in a hospital room or something rediculous like that.

"Mm..." Midori twitched, turning onto her side in her bed.

"Yikes!" Hikaru yelped, jumping up in his chair. "Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up..." He quietly pleaded to Midori's sleeping form..

But Hikaru's talking made Midori twitch and moan even more. Hikaru hoped with all of his might that Midori would be groggy enough to not recognize his face. His Kingpin Kunais bandanna was off, so just maybe...

"Mmm..." Midori groaned, her eyes slowly fluttering open. She gazed at Hikaru sleepily for a moment, looking very confused.

Hikaru just stared back, wide-eyed and sweating.

Midori sighed in sort of a tired manner, and Hikaru gulped. Midori slowly sat up from her bed, glancing down at her bandaged-up body. "Hmm..." She moaned quietly, suddenly remembering what had happened to her back at the training feild. She looked all around the room without a word, noticing that she was in the hospital.

"U-Uh...um..." Hikaru stammered, not knowing what to say to Midori.

"Hikaru..." Midori said softly, rubbing her eyes. "Is...is that you?"

"Uh, yeah, it's me..." Hikaru said nervously. _Rats!_

"Oh...good." Midori sighed, stretching. Hikaru had absolutley no idea what she meant by that. "Um...what just happened, Hikaru? I mean...how did I get here?" She asked slowly, almost wide awake now.

"My squad took you here." Hikaru said, scratching his head uncertainly.

"You...took me here?" Midori asked. "Um...but...how? I mean, how did you find me? I don't understand..."

"Well, your friend Masakaru came all the way to the Hidden Leaf Village to find someone to help break you guys all up. He said it was because he hated fighting and didn't want anybody to get hurt. Luckily, he found us just when our mission was over. So we came back as quick as possible and found you wounded on the ground. That's how you ended up here. You've been here for two days now." Hikaru explained to her.

"Oh...wow..." Midori said in a hushed tone. Suddenly, her eyes grew very wide. "W-Wait...what about Kamichi's battle?! What happened to him?!"

"Um...oh, that? Kamichi...he's fine. He ended up losing the battle, but your leader Toshiro was the one who ended up dying. I'm really sorry." Hikaru told her quietly.

"Oh, my gosh! How terrible!" Midori gasped, biting her lip and putting her hand to her mouth. Poor Toshiro! She had never really felt anything extra-special for him and always thought he posed as a threat, but now, she felt really bad for the guy. "Wh-What about Masakaru and Kouki? Are they with Kamichi? How are they doing?" She asked hurriedly, knowing that she had missed alot. She knew that she needed to catch up.

"Well...Masakaru, Kouki, and Kamichi were out to bury Toshiro, then come back here and visit you. They ended up not coming yesterday night because of the bad weather. It really doesn't matter, though, because the doctors were very busy fixing you up yesterday, and you wouldn't have been able to see them. Kamichi and the others should be here soon, though." Hikaru said.

Midori's face fell. She forgot that Kouki and challenged Midori for second-position and Kamichi. Kouki and Kamichi loved each other reguardless of the battle, anyway. Kamichi and Midori were no longer together anymore.

"So...where are your other teammates now? You know, the rest of the Kingpin Kunais?" Midori asked curiously.

"Oh...Slicer and Zamu out in the waiting area. Omari's in the cafeteria. She'll be right back with food for you." Hikaru said, reaching for an old magazine on a small table. After a few minutes of pretend-reading, he still felt Midori's eyes on him. He nervously looked up at her. "Uuh...you need something, kid? Did you want a magazine or something?" He hated it when he got stared at. Especially if the person who was doing the staring was a freaky, optimistic twelve-year-old who had a huge crush on him.

"Huh?" Midori asked, snapping out of a trance. "Oh. Nah, I don't need anything."

"Okay..." Hikaru said, glancing back at the totally boring article he was checking out.

Two more minutes went by. Omari still hadn't come back yet, and Hikaru knew that Midori was _still_ staring at him dreamily. Even after that little fight he and Midori had, Midori still didn't hate him. Now _that _was a seriously obsessed fan.

"Hey, Hikaru..." Midori asked, trying to hide her sly smirk. She was blushing slightly but spoke with confidence.

"Huh?" Hikaru asked uncomfortably, looking up from his magazine.

"Can you come over here for a sec? Please?" Midori flashed Hikaru her puppy eyes.

"Uh...sure. Why?" Hikaru asked suspiciously, actually naive enough to stand up from his chair and go over to Midori, who was sitting up in her bed.

Moments later...

"Yaaaaaahh!! No! No! Lemme go! I hate being cuddled! I don't cuddle!" Hikaru shrieked desperatley while being squished half to death by a very gleeful Midori. "Nooo! You're _wounded_! Wounded girls aren't supossed to have this much strength!! Lemme gooo!"

"But you're soooooo cute and cuddly!" Midori giggled joyfully. She was using one hand to frolic with his shiny, jet-black hair and the other to cling to him. She honestly didn't care that they had gotten into a brutal, tear-inducing fist fight before. She just couldn't resist being in the same room with Hikaru and not clinging to him at the same time. It made her feel a bit better about the situation she was in. "I could just squeeze you to bits!!"

"I believe you!" Hikaru cried. "Just let me go and- wait...cute and cuddly?! Okay, I might be just a little bit 'cute' but NOT cuddly!! Guys in evil-looking suits with black capes and glares on their faces aren't supposed to look cuddly!"

"They sure look cuddly to _me_!" Midori said, giving him a huge, wet kiss on the cheek. "Mwwwa!"

"Ooooh, yyuuck!" Hikaru moaned loudly, squirming wildly as Midori continued to kiss his cheek over and over again. "That is SO gross! I hate that! Just let me go! Pleeeaaasse!" He cried, remembering how Tarina used to do this to him all of the time when he was very little. Tarina did it partially to simply annoy him, and because she thought he was adorable, too. The very thought of Tarina clinging and repeatedly kissing him nowadays was simply sickening.

"Okay, I'm done." Midori cooed, giving him one final kiss on the cheek and releasing him. Hikaru flopped to the ground and moaned. She then shrugged, pulled out a nail filer from nowhere, and got to work. "Your fault for coming over here, anyway. You should have known that you were too cute to resist!"

Hikaru hadn't expected her to release him so soon. "Huh? Why'd you stop?" He asked suspiciously, thinking that there was a catch or something. Midori not clinging to him for dear life seemed almost too good to be true.

Midori raised her eyebrows hopefully. "Why, you didn't want me to stop?"

Hikaru almost gagged at the thought of them being boyfriend and girlfriend. Sure, Midori was pretty for a twelve-year-old, but it was just not happening. Midori was too creepy, bouncy, and young for him, anyway. "Eeew, no! I mean, no. I was just curious. It seemed like there was a reason why..."

"I decided to leave you alone because you already have a girl you like," Midori shrugged like it was nothing, fighting the urge to smirk evilly.

"Whaaaaaat?!? I don't like anyone! What're you talkin' about?!" Hikaru cried defensively.

"I'm talking about Omari." Midori replied smoothly.

"What?! I-I...how do you know?!" Hikaru asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"I'm a love expert. I can easily tell these things. Just the way you said her name when I woke up tells me that you love her deeply. Even though you spoke in a casual tone then, I can still tell." Midori explained in a professional tone. She knew what she was talking about. She had a sort of special skill for that.

Midori saw strange things whenever people spoke. In Midori's eyes, people gave off some sort of weird green, floating waves if they spoke with envy in their hearts. Blue was for sadness. Red was for anger. Pink was for love. Magenta was for normal affection. Orange was for guilt (that was how she could tell if people were lying). Purple was for curiosity or cluelessness. Gray was neutral. And finally, yellow was for annoyance. There were many more emotions shown as colors to Midori, but some were too complex to comprehend. As soon as Hikaru had said Omari's name, Hikaru's wave color had temporarily turned a bright pink. Other than that, she could also tell by looking into people's eyes. This way, she automatically knew how people felt about her. She felt almost like a dog by having a weird type of vision, but all in all, it was okay.

Hikaru gaped at her in awe for a few seconds. It was amazing. Midori could tell if you liked someone by the way you said their names! He suddenly snapped out of it and put a grumpy glare on his face. "Well, you may know that I love Omari, but I'm still grossed out by your kissing!" Hikaru said, heading for the door with a scowl on his face.

"Where ya going, Hikaru?" Midori asked sweetly, gently swaying her feet over the bed's edge.

"To wash my face!!" Hikaru grumbled loudly and exited the room just as Omari walked in with a medium-sized tray full of food. She eyed him strangely as he left the room.

Midori just giggled.

"Wha'd you do to him?" Omari asked, raising an eyebrow but smiling all the while.

Midori shrugged. "I just hugged him and kissed him on the cheek."

"Looks like somebody has a crush..." Omari chortled, shutting the hospital bedroom door behind her. "Well, he _is_ kind of cute."

"Yeah..." Midori sighed dreamily, then looked over at Omari with her big, bright eyes. "You like him?" She asked. Midori sort of hoped so, knowing that they would make an adorable couple.

Omari blushed as she set the lunch tray down on the table in front of Midori. "Who, me? You mean..._like_...Hikaru?" She asked nervously.

"Yeah. As in a romantic way in which you guys kiss and stuff..." Midori said, still swaying her feet paitently as she opened up a small carton of milk and stuck a straw in it. When she looked up at Omari, she saw a pretty mix of bright pink and magenta waves coming from her body. A few traces of orange were stuck in there, too. Midori realized that Omari's feelings for Hikaru were remotely romantic, but uncertain and guilty. Midori wondered why Omari would ever feel guilty about something like that.

"Um...well I sorta like him...I'm not entirely sure yet." Omari said quickly yet shyly. "You see...alot of things happened in the past between Hikaru and the rest of the squad. And...well, some things take some time to get over..."

Midori nodded, knowing the answer before Omari even told her. "Well, it's good that you're taking your time..." She replied neutrally, sipping her milk and starting to eat the chocolate pudding that was on her tray.

Omari merely nodded, starting to twiddle her thumbs. She really didn't know what to say to this girl. It wasn't like she really knew her or anything, so she couldn't really have a warm conversation with her. She was also a sick ninja who liked to raid other younger squads. She seemed pretty nice, and the look in her eyes was innocent, but Omari knew that looks were decieving.

The eyes were the windows to the soul...but nobody ever said that those windows couldn't be slammed shut.

The door to the hospital room suddenly opened, and Zamu half walked in the doorway. "Kamichi and his friends are here."

Midori suddenly looked upset.

"Oh, okay." Omari replied, standing up from her chair and straightening her clothes out. She had to leave the room, since the nurses really didn't like too many visitors in a room at once. She wanted to give them a bit of privacy, too. She turned to Midori. "Um...I'll be back soon, Midori. I think Kamichi and the others want to see you."

"Okay." Midori said, looking down, sighing. She wanted to spend more time with Omari, and she didn't feel like facing her teammates after all that had happened. "Thank you for the lunch. It was nice meeting you."

Omari smiled weakly. "It was nice meeting you, too. Don't worry, I'll be back." She said, waving slightly as she exited the room along with Zamu, shutting the door behind her.

Midori put her tray aside, lay back down on her bed, and stared at the ceiling angrily. She didn't want to talk to Kamichi. Masakaru was okay, but she still didn't want to talk to him. And she _definatley _didn't want to talk to Kouki, that sickening, mind-reading little freak...she was the whole reason why Midori was here in the first place!

A few moments later, there was a small knock on Midori's door.

"Come in." Midori called angrily to the shut door.

The door opened. Kamichi shyly came in first, then a very upset-looking Masakaru, and finally Kouki, who was looking at the floor.

"What do you all want?" Midori huffed impatiently, trying to hide her embarassment and sadness.

"We just wanted to see if you were okay, Midori..." Kamichi said softly. After a few beats with no response from Midori, Kamichi sighed. "You hate us all, don't you?"

"To be honest, I really don't care." Midori said without looking at him.

"We know that you care," Kamichi said firmly. "You're just upset and angry that you lost the battle, which is okay. Kouki and I deserve to be hated by you, anyway. And...I'm sorry for not thinking over my feelings for you carefully, okay?"

"Whatever."

Kamichi's firm look suddenly turned upset as he remembered what Toshiro had told him to tell her. "Um...Midori..."

"What?" Midori asked.

"You see...when Toshiro was about to pass on...he told me to tell you something." Kamichi said, looking down. He was twiddling his thumbs nervously, exactly like the first time he was sitting next to Midori (Midori couldn't help noticing).

"Toshiro?! What...what did he want you to tell me?" Midori asked in a hushed whisper, wide-eyed.

"He-...he loved you." Kamichi swallowed, a few tears trickling down his cheeks. He automatically wiped them away, remembering how Toshiro had scolded Kamichi for crying over him. _Only losers cried in the face of death, _he had said. Kamichi found that nonsensical, though. People cried over you only because they cared about you. Being cared about was supossed to make people feel warm inside, right?

_...Not for me or Toshiro... _Kamichi thought miserbly, looking at the floor. _We're two people who don't need love or feelings. We hate feelings and disreguard all but our own..._

"He...loved me?" Midori asked softly, tears welling up in her eyes. That was so sweet...yet so sad. She looked over at Kamichi, and all she saw coming from him was orange, orange, orange...pure guilt. There was no doubt that Kamichi felt that he had been the one who killed Toshiro.

But, somehow, Midori knew that was impossible. Toshiro had probably found a way to summon some all-powerful energy, then die as a consequence. He just seemed the type of person to do something like that in pure anger and not think it over. Midori also knew that Kamichi would never have the heart to kill Toshiro, even though he _could_ be a bit rough and kept to himself sometimes.

Everybody stayed silent for a moment, either staring off into space or at the floor.

Kouki finally broke the silence by bravely stepping up to Midori's bed and looking her straight in the eye with something mixed with guilt, triumph, and regret. "Um...hey."

"Hey." Midori retorted cockily in a grunting, mocking voice.

The look in Kouki's eyes went from guilty and regretful to absolutley appalled. She looked hurt and took a tiny step back.

Midori sighed, suddenly regretting it. She had no excuse whatsoever to be mad at Kouki. Kouki had beaten her fair and square. If Midori had a little more courage, perhaps she could have taken down Kouki. But that didn't happen. Midori looked down. She definatley owed her an apology. For...everything. "I'm sorry, Kouki...I'm just a little upset, that's all..."

Kouki didn't respond, and was playing with a strand of her hair by twisting it around her index finger. She looked kind of nervous.

Midori gave her a small smile. "It's okay, Kouki...you proved yourself. You're stronger than me. You won. I'm going to beat you up or anything, okay? I'm sorry for ever mistreating you. I was wrong to take advantage of my ranking."

"B-But..." Kouki started to stammer. "You taught me everything I know. I would have never beaten you if you hadn't been such a good teacher."

"Exactly. You beat me at my own game."

"But..." Kouki said. "I just feel so weird now...like I shouldn't have done it. I mean, it just doesn't seem fair. I beat you with your own moves!"

Midori chuckled lightly. "I never taught you about how to use your inner demon or how to make Ultra Kunais. I mean, that's really what you beat me with, right?"

"Yeah...I guess so..." Kouki shrugged, looking down. "I'm just unsure of what to say. I mean, should I be sorry? Or happy? Or regretful? I really don't know."

"You've always been so indecisive..." Midori laughed, then reached over and patted your shoulder. "You shouldn't feel anything but proud of yourself. You _should_ be happy. Don't feel regretful or sorry. I mean, I just don't have the ability to overpower you anymore. You shouldn't be sorry of anything. And you should totally forget about all of the things I said about you in the past. You're a smart, strong, and beautiful girl. Really."

"Th-thank you..." Kouki whispered, eyes widened. She was absolutley flattered. Nobody had said anything nice about her before. And when it was from the person who had manipulated your life and treated you like dirt for years, it felt especially nice. After all of those years of mistreatment and insults, it had made her feel unsure and indecisive about everything...including herself.

Midori just smiled to herself. It felt pretty good to make Kouki happy for once and not sad, scared, or angry.

Kamichi stepped forward. "So...uh...Midori...what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?" Midori asked.

"I mean...what are your plans for the future? Squad 101 is completley crashed. And...our boss contacted us just yesterday and...we're fired." Kamichi sighed dramatically. "I knew it as soon as the battles were over. I guess 'trustworthy workers' like us not allowed to fight like that..."

"Who knew...?" Midori sighed. "Great. We're all out of work."

Kamichi nodded, saddened by the outcome of joining Squad 101. He was out of work now. He almost felt as if he should have stuck with the Kingpin Kunais. _They_ weren't fired. He looked back at Midori. "So...what _are _you gonna do?"

"I dunno." Midori shrugged. "I can't decide untill I know what you guys are going to do."

"Kouki and I are just going to go off together to start a squad of our own..." Kamichi shrugged, almost choking on the words 'Kouki and I'. He checked to see if Midori's lip was quivering or if her eyes were watering, but there was no reaction. Good.

"And I'm just going to find another squad by myself...or someone who I can just stick around with..." Masakaru shrugged, his hands in his pockets. He was hoping to find an adult who would take him in, but that was way too risky. If he had went back to the Hidden Leaf to find that lady, he'd have to go through plenty of paperwork, tests, and questionings to qualify as a Hidden Leaf Villager. They could find out he used to be a rogue ninja if he cracked under pressure, too. Besides, some random person could just take him in and then turn out to be a murderer who wanted to...well, murder him.

Midori suddenly got an upset and scared look on her face. "Then...then...where am I going to go? I'll be all by myself!" She exclaimed in a worried, pitiful tone.

Of course. A girl like Midori was helpless when it came to facing the whole wide world by herself. Midori could admit something like that any day.

Kamichi and Kouki sighed and looked at each other. They knew that Midori would never stick with the two of them. It just wouldn't seem right, with Kouki and Kamichi being a couple now. It just wouldn't. So...where was Midori going to go?

Masakaru considered this for a moment. He could take Midori with him, but the two of them together by themselves seemed kind of a grossly uncomfortable thought to him. And yet...Masakaru could see the pleading look in Midori's eyes as she stared up at him. Nobody else seemed to notice it.

Masakaru's stern look started to falter a bit. Midori knew it was working, and she forced herself not to smile. She wasn't trying to manipulate Masakaru or anything...she just wanted to go with him, at least untill they found a squad or something. Or, if Midori was persuasive and nice enough, maybe even longer than that. Maybe she could find a way to make Masakaru want to stay with her.

_Fine...maybe I should let her come with me...for now. _Masakaru sighed and walked up to her bed nonchalantly, although Midori's puppy eyes had somehow won him over. It didn't matter what gender or age you were. Midori's puppy eyes _always _won you over no matter what. It sort of annoyed Masakaru, but what could you do? The girl was hopeless without someone else around. She wouldn't know how to take care of herself at all. "Midori...you can come with me if you want to." He shrugged, wondering if he would regret his act of generosity.

"Yaaay- I mean...okay! I'll come with you!" Midori said, pleased.

"And we're _not _gonna get all romantic and disgusting, you got that?" Masakaru said sternly, eyeing her strangely. "Just because I'm with you doesn't mean I'm your boyfriend, so no kissing or messing with my hair or anything, okay?"

"Okay, Masakaru! Whatever you say." Midori giggled. She knew she could fix that in a matter of months.

Masakaru sighed and rolled his ocean blue eyes, making Midori giggle and blush again. Kouki and Kamichi exchanged significant looks while Masakaru just looked annoyed. "Yeah, sure. We'll go just as soon as the doctor says you can leave, but we have to avoid any trouble or fights or anything because of your condition."

"Okay!" Midori cooed cheerily, happy that she had won Masakaru over. _Wow...he's so cute when he gets annoyed...which is, of course, most of the time... _She couldn't help thinking with a grin on her face. She had always thought so, untill Kamichi came along, anyway. Her feelings for Masakaru were renewed, but Masakaru sure didn't feel anything for her. Yet. She suddenly felt a little drowsy. All of this excitement and chatter was making her tired. She yawned. "You guys...I'm gonna get some sleep, okay?"

"Oh! Uh, sure! We'll leave you to rest..." Kamichi said, nodding. He, Masakaru, and Kouki quietly stepped back torwards the door.

"Come visit me later, okay?" Midori asked sleepily, laying down on her comfortable hospital bed.

"Yeah. We'll visit you as soon as possible." Kamichi smiled gently, flicking off the lights, stepping out of the room and shutting the door as Midori buried her head under the covers and fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

_**...A Few Moments Later...**_

Omari stared at Kamichi from across the waiting room, who was just sitting there in a chair, reading a more recent magazine for adolescents. It was obvious that she wanted to talk to him. She wanted to hold him. She just wanted him with her again.

Kamichi felt Omari's eyes on him and cringed. He didn't want to be involved with Omari at all. His heart was aching enough already with Toshiro dead and Squad 101 breaking up into two separate groups. He didn't need Omari to make it even worse for him.

Kamichi also couldn't help noticing that Hikaru seemed much calmer and mature-acting. He didn't act goofy or stupid. He wasn't trying to make a scene or flirt with the younger female nurses or anything childish like that. It was weird. Maybe...maybe the demon was what made him so bloodthirsty and obnoxious in the first place. Maybe, with the demon gone and his real Kekkei Genkai rediscovered, Hikaru had become a better person with more self-confidence.

Well, of course, Hikaru was still a bit obnoxious and a little too outgoing due to being raised by Tarina, but that wasn't the point at all. Hikaru was Hikaru.

Back on Halloween, Hikaru had only been trying to help. He was just steamed that Kamichi would ever hang out with a squad of young ninja who liked to pick on other rogue ninja squads and destroy their secret hideouts. The very thought made Kamichi sad again. He knew better than to be a follower and not a leader, but he let peer pressure get the best of him. It made him feel so weak and easily manipulated. Like a robot.

Hikaru had more of an excuse to be mean than Kamichi did. Hikaru had a hard-to-maintain Kekkei Genkai, was shunned and abandoned by his parents, _and _used to have the Midnight Demon inside of him.

And _he_ ended up being the one who was well-behaved and knew better than to hunt other rogue ninja down.

To Kamichi, that was just rediculous. It made him seem like even more of a bad person than before.

And _that _was another reason why his heart was aching. He felt guilty for everything. He felt like everything was his fault, which led to the reason why he didn't want to face Omari at all. Kamichi wished she would just stop staring longingly at him and forget about him. He wasn't going back to her squad no matter what. It just wouldn't work.

After a few more minutes of staring, Kamichi simply couldn't take it anymore. He had to be alone for a while. He turned slightly to face Kouki, who was sitting next to him. "Hey...I'm just gonna go take a little walk by myself, alright? I'll be back soon." He whispered, starting to stand up from his chair.

"Um...okay." Kouki nodded, only somewhat understanding. "You sure you don't want me to come with you? You look so upset..." She said. She didn't exactly want to go with Kamichi, just to walk around in embarassed silence, but she had to offer. It was only nice. Maybe he just needed somebody to talk to.

"Nah, I'm okay. Thanks, though. I'll be back soon." Kamichi said, kissing her on the cheek, grabbing his backpack, and walking out the door without saying anything more.

_**...Thirty Minutes Later...**_

Kamichi lay on the wet and muddy ground in Squad 101's training feild, just thinking. He was laying in muck, but that was okay. The training feild was wrecked, due to the two fights that had happened a few days ago. There was still a blood/mud puddle or two laying in the ditches made by the impacts of previous battle.

Kamichi was laying right where Toshiro had last been. The spot was easy to find, due to the medium-sized blood puddle that he had made when he had released the blood sheild from his body and died.

"Here I am..." Kamichi whispered softly to himself, staring up at the gloomy sky, "...soaking myself in someone else's blood again. I'm such a loser..." He didn't care if his clothes were absolutley wrecked. He was too upset to care. Besides, when his thinking time was over and he wanted to go back to the hospital, he would just go back into the hideout and grab a clean outfit from his used-to-be bedroom closet.

During the storm that had went on yesterday, Masakaru, Kouki, and Kamichi had just ran into the hideout after burying Toshiro; they had gotten finished right before the storm had come (burying him properly had been a very long, hard, and backbreaking process). While Kamichi was staying in the hideout, he had taken some of his things from his old room and stuffed them in his backpack. One of them was his Kingpin Kunais bandanna.

Kamichi reached for his muddy backpack, which lay alongside him. He unzipped the zipper and took out his bandanna. He held it above him with both hands, just staring at it. He didn't know what to think. He just wanted to look at it. He would keep it forever and staring longingly at it would become a major bad habit of his in the future, but what could you do?

Kamichi wished that Hikaru had never given it back to him. Hikaru should have kept it and gave it to another kid who met the standards to join the Kingpin Kunais. But, in Kamichi's mind, that would make it a cursed bandanna, with his blood all over it and all. Kamichi was the only one who could touch his cursed bandanna, otherwise, the person who meddled with it or wore it would turn as bad as he did or at least have bad luck.

As Kamichi was just staring at his bandanna, memorizing the good times, there was a sudden rustle in a bushes. It sounded almost...clumsy. It had to be another person.

Kamichi wasn't the least bit suprised or scared. He didn't even move. "Omari. I know you're there." He called loudly.

A small, embarassed gasp came from the bushes. It was obviously Omari, shocked that she had been found out so quickly.

"You can come out now, Omari. You don't have to spy on me anymore." Kamichi said nonchalantly. He had a blank expression on his face. He knew she was watching him all along.

Omari gulped as she shyly emerged from the nearby bushes, looking at the floor. There was no doubt that she felt guilty for following and spying on Kamichi. She stepped over to Kamichi, who had stood up to face her. Omari smiled nervously. "Uh...h-hey, Kamichi..."

"You're really freaking me out, you know that?" Kamichi said scornfully, arms crossed. "First you're staring at me and trying to sit all close to me, then you're following me and spying on me from a nearby bush. Do I smell really good or something? What exactly do you want from me?!"

Omari just looked at the floor, tears welling up in her eyes. "Kamichi...I'm sorry." She sniffled.

"Omari, I'm not coming back to the Kingpin Kunais squad, no matter how much you miss me. That's never going to change! Why can't you just deal with it and get on with your life!? We can't see each other anymore, Omari. We have to go our separate ways. And it's not you. It's me. This was meant to be, alright? I'm only doing this because I don't want you to get hurt!"

Omari sniffled again. "B-But...but..."

"No buts. That's just how it is." Kamichi said sternly, scowling up at her.

"I...I...okay. I...I get it. I'm sorry for bothering you, Kamichi. It's just that..." Omari whimpered, hot tears streaming down her now scrunched-up face (she was trying not to burst out bawling). "I miss you!" She screamed and started to sob. She grabbed Kamichi and clasped her into her shaking arms, hugging onto him for dear life.

At first, Kamichi thought about striking out at poor Omari, but that would be horribly cruel. She was just upset. She was just a leader/surrogate mother who missed her teammate/'child' and felt sorry for him. It was perfectly excusable. There was no reason to get mad at Omari, anyway. Kamichi realized that he should only be mad at himself for letting this all happen.

And yet, he was so unsure. Wasn't it Hikaru who was the cause of all this? Or...was that the Midnight Demon's fault? Or was Kamichi just looking for someone to blame this all on?

All of these confusing thoughts rambled on and on in Kamichi's head as Omari clutched him in her ams, crying all over his shoulder. Kamichi felt incredibly uncomfortable between his confusing thoughts and Omari's bawling, but there was nothing he could do. Even if he wanted to break free of Omari's grasp, he couldn't. She was holding onto him tightly. Maybe a bit too tightly...

"Aaach! O-Omari...please let go of me!" Kamichi choked desperatley, trying to pull his crushed body away from her. He hated warm hugs enough as it is. He didn't need Omari ultra-glomping him like that. It hurt, especially because she was bigger and older than him.

Omari sniffled, wiped her nose, and released him. "I'm sorry, Kamichi...I don't know what came over me." She said quietly, wiping the last of her tears away. Her eyes were still watery and red and her nose was runny, but she had finally stopped crying.

Kamichi just gave her a weird look as he dusted himself off. "Neither do I..." He said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Omari sighed.

"Look, Omari, I'm sorry I've been so harsh. But...I just can't stand the hugs and stuff. It makes me feel even worse. I know I don't socialize with anybody anymore and..." Kamichi started.

"Well, how should I know?" Omari shrugged. "I haven't seen you for quite a while..."

"I know, Omari..." Kamichi said softly, looking up at the sky again. "And the truth is...I miss you too. But, of course, that doesn't mean-"

"Yes, I understand..." Omari sighed, looking down. "But it just feels so weird around with Hikaru back and you not around anymore..."

"How _is _Hikaru, anyway?" Kamichi asked in a glum voice. He was now looking down, too.

"Mm...he's getting better." Omari shrugged. "It really took alot to whip him into the shape he's in now, though. He also has a major crush on me and all...it's kind of uncomfortable, but I'm getting used to it. But of course, he certainly doesn't replace a strong squad member like you..."

"You're too kind..." Kamichi grumbled, glaring down at the floor.

Omari gave him a concerned look and was about to embrace him again, then decided to just let it go for now. "Well...I'm going to go back to the hospital to quickly visit Midori once more, okay? Then...I'll probably head back to the hideout with the others, so I might not see you..."

"You probably wont, because I'm going to go inside of the hideout and clean up. Then, I'll go back to the hospital." Kamichi said, looking up at her with something close to disappointment. "So...uh...bye. Tell your _teammates _that I said goodbye, too, okay?"

Omari lightly hugged him, then looked a bit worried and upset. She didn't want to say goodbye to him so soon. She knew that she wouldn't see Kamichi for a long, long time. "Okay, Kamichi..." She sniffled. "So...I hear that you're going with Kouki, huh?"

"Yep."

''Wh-where will you go?" Omari asked nervously. She knew that she wouldn't get a specific location for an answer from Kamichi, she hoped that he wouldn't go too far, or else she may never see him again.

"Somewhere..." Kamichi shrugged nonchalantly. "Anywhere. Anywhere but here."

_**...END OF THE LONELY REMEDY...**_

_**!!Turn To The Second-To-Last Chapter After Reading This!!**_

_**AWW!! That's kind of sad!! So, it's pretty obvious that Omari will have to wait a long time before she can ever see/find Kamichi again, because it pretty much sounds like he's moving right out of the village!! I know that this wasn't the longest or best ending for this super-short segment or anything, but I've been planning this ending for months. I can't change it now.**_

_**And once again, I'm spell-sweeping the whole series, and I hope to correct most of it before my continuation of this series comes out. Yes, this is one of those stories that seems like it has no ending. That's EXACTLY why I'm ending this series here for now, so reading the second, more futuristic half of the series is COMPLETLEY OPTIONAL, ALTHOUGH I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU TRACK IT DOWN AND READ THE FIRST CHAPTER IN A FEW WEEKS. I'm not trying to get you all to read my other stories, it's just that if you want to know what happens to Kamichi and the Kingpin Kunais, then you should read it, okay?**_

_**The name of the separate-story continuation is not avaliable yet, but it DEFINATLEY will be out at the second part of The End.**_

_**Turn to the next chapter (if it's there yet)!!**_


	28. The End: 1: Cuddly Key Of Blissfulness

_**The End: Part 1/2: The Cuddly Key Of Blissfulness.**_

_**So...uh...here it is. The END!! Well, part 1 out of 2, anyway. It's a weird chapter title, I know. But you JUST MIGHT get it after you read this. Also, after you read this chapter, then go to the next one, since it's not the end after what happens here. THEN, AFTER THE NEXT CHAPTER, there are the Extras segment of the series, the very last part of this story. After that, I'll just be sweeping all of the errors and stuff.**_

_**And after you're done with all of THAT, in about a week, the second part of First Impressions: Haku's Training Days is coming out as a separate story, as I said before, only it wont be based on the regular plot. It's all of the same characters moving on with their same old lives, but...well, something else happens. The second half is just more into the future, okay?! And, once again, I highly recommend you read the second, more matured part of the series if you really want to see what happens to all of my still-living characters. Okay? ON WITH THE STORY!! ;)**_

_**HAPPY READING:)**_

_**...One Year And A Few Months Later...**_

_"So...Tarina...do you think I should get a haircut, or not?" Hikaru asked his older sister, whom was sitting next to him in the dreamlike Spirit Environment. He had been spending alot of time with her lately while he was asleep. Their bond had grown much stronger ever since the demons inside the two of them had left for good. Now, they were catching up in their brother-sister friendliness from all of those years of sheer rivalry and hatred._

_Tarina smiled and ruffled his now nearly-shoulder-length hair. "Nah. I think it looks cute that way."_

_Hikaru drew his kness to his chest and sighed. "I just don't get it. Why isn't Omari liking me the way I thought she would? I mean, she's nice and all, but she's not...you know."_

_"I understand..." Tarina nodded slightly, her eyes getting sadder by the moment. "I know that you want to be with Omari forever, but she's been through alot lately. And soon, she'll..." Her voice suddenly trailed off, and she swallowed._

_"What? What's gonna happen to Omari?" Hikaru asked, eyes widened. He could tell something was going to happen by the way Tarina had spoken._

_"...When Omari turns eighteen, only then her memory will be brought back to her if she catches sight of her dagger. That is the effect of the drink I had given her. I know I made it sound like an ordinary feel-better trea back thent, but it wasn't. I purposely had given her a potion in which she'd fall asleep, wake up a few hours later, and forget everything untill she became an adult." Tarina admitted with a sigh._

_"What?! That's in two years! I mean, I thought that drink was just something to help her calm down!! She'll remember who she really is all of a sudden?! What's gonna happen to her then?" Hikaru asked._

_"She'll have a choice to make..." Tarina said softly, looking at the Dark Spirit Sheilded platform she was sitting on along with Hikaru. "She can either go back to who she was, ripping people's hearts out for power, or she can resume her life, knowing that she had once been been a pure terrorist from another strange land. But, if she saw the dagger a second too early, then all hell would break loose."_

_"Wow..." Hikaru whispered in shock. "So...is _this_ why Omari's been going to Master Atoshi ever since she turned sixteen?"_

_"Yes...she is getting major mental treatment, although she seems to not need it much. We're starting the treatment early because it's better safe than sorry. Master Atoshi is just getting her ready for the day to come. He's not trying to change her around or anything like that. He just invites her over to talk. You know, help her out a bit by talking about each other's views of the world. Things like that comfort Omari and get her thinking positive. We're hoping that this treatment will help her decide to resume her life as a normal shinobi rather than go back to her demonic job of blindly murdering everyone in sight." Tarina explained. "Because if she turns out all depressed and upset with herself, she can make the wrong decision."_

_"Wow...you and Mater Atoshi have been discussing this alot in the past, haven't you?" Hikaru asked._

_Tarina nodded. "Although we're not entirely sure what she is yet. Master Atoshi has been doing some research, but...it's just not working. We're doing all we can to help her and for her not to find out about who she really is a second too early, but...we have to protect her with all of our strength. There are still some people after her, you see. They would recognize her markings any day and hunt her down in an instant. Just like how we would be recongnized by our charms. That's how I decided that Omari needed to live as a rogue ninja instead of a good-doer."_

_Hikaru gasped._

_"That's why you have to physically protect her, too." Tarina told him sternly. "Since I can't do it, it's partially your job, along with Slicer's and Zamu's. It has been your job ever since I found her, but you have never realized it."_

_"Oh. O-Okay..." Hikaru said, unsure of what else to say. "But...but...what about her special dagger from before?! Where is it?"_

_"I...I carry it with me all of the time, but I fear that I can't hold onto it much longer. But...the thing that REALLY worries me is..." Tarina gulped. "What if Omari ends up having children?"_

_Hikaru cringed._

_"Exactly." Tarina said, nodding (although the true reason Hikaru cringed was because it was a very uncomfortable topic to talk about). "Her child could be cursed like she is. What if the baby is impossible to get under control? What if it was barely even human? Omari wouldn't know how to take care of something like that. That's another reason why Master Atoshi is always speaking with her. Omari may never know it, but he is preparing her for it. Just like he prepared me to take care of you when I found you. That's how I became friends with him."_

_"Oh..." Hikaru said. He had never known any of this. Now, he was curious "...But...what about me?"_

_"That's another thing..." Tarina said. "I know this sounds weird, but it's true. You may not know how to control your future child either, if you end up having one. He could possibly inherit your Kekkei Genkai, and part of your demon."_

_"But my demon is gone!" Hikaru cried, slightly frightened by what Tarina had just said._

_"Part of it (the inactive part of our demons) will always remain a part of us forever," Tarina said, but in sort of an uncomfortable tone now. "But if it gets into fresh blood, like a baby's blood, then it could become active again. We could pass it down easily, just like a disease."_

_"You...you're right..." Hikaru sighed. "Maybe Omari and I shouldn't be together at all..."_

_"Nonsense!" Came a familiar voice out of nowhere as a human-sized figure appeared right before their eyes._

_"Haku!" Tarina and Hikaru cried out, jumping back a bit._

_"Don't worry...I wasn't paying attention to your whole conversation. I only caught the last bit." Haku said smoothly as Tarina and Hikaru exchanged weird looks. Haku looked over at Tarina's younger brother. "Hikaru...I know you feel awkward, but you should love Omari as much as you feel you should. Don't let DNA history and memories of me get in the way. I mean, if something bad happens, you guys could pull through it together if you really love each other. Help Omari if you have to. If you truly love her and feel she is precious to you, then stop at nothing to protect her and form a bond with her."_

_"I...you sure?" Hikaru said, raising an eyebrow. He was still a bit freaked out from Haku's sudden appearance (Tarina had easily gotten over it; she was used to sudden appearances), but found the words to speak to him. "I don't want to steal your woman just because you're a ghost. I mean, you love her and stuff!"_

_"But...you do, too!" Haku said. "And I'm just a ghost. I can't be with her much, and I can still love her, but you are the one who should protect and love her reguardless of my love for her. I would be upset if you hesitated to love her in a romantic way, because it wouldn't be fair if you didn't. Her love for you is growing stronger, Hikaru, although she feels quite uncomfortable about it. I can sense it."_

_"R-Really?!" Hikaru blushed._

_"Really." Haku said as he and Tarina exchanged pleasant smiles._

_"Wow..." Hikaru whispered to himself. Not only did this mean that there was even more hope than ever fo he and Omari, but this meant that he was making beter progress in being a better person._

_"Hey, Hikaru..." Tarina said, tapping him gently on the shoulder. "It's getting kind of late in the morning now. You should be getting up soon."_

_"Oh...okay." Hikaru sighed. He gave Haku a quick wave. "Um...bye, g- I mean, Haku. I'll talk to you later, okay? And about what you said...thanks. I needed that." He smiled, catching himself before he said 'goon' again._

_"You're welcome. You can talk to me anytime you like." Haku said with a smile._

_"Bye-bye, Baby Brother!" Tarina squealed obnoxiously in a fake baby voice. She grabbed him and clasped him in her arms, repeatedly kissing him on the cheek. "I've been missing you so much lately! I haven't done this in a while, have I?"_

_"No, you haven't!! Now please let me go!! Eeeeweweweww!" Hikaru screamed desperatley, trying to pull himself out from Tarina's lung-crushing grasp. "It's so awkward and...gross!!"_

_"I know...that's what makes it so much fun!!" Tarina laughed, kissing him on the cheek again. Omari wasn't Tarina's only target back then. Of course, as a young kid, Hikaru got his torture as well. And the worst thing was, Tarina always got him good because he was her little brother and she could do whatever she liked to him. "Look at you, almost all grown up now!! Yet you're still the adorable little Hikaru I loooooove!"_

_"Nooooo! You goon of a sister, I said stop it!" Hikaru cried._

_"Hee hee!" Tarina laughed gleefully, overaffectionatley rubbing her cheek against his, kissing it one more time and letting go._

_Hikaru grumpily stood up and dusted himself off. He hated it when Tarina did what she liked with him and knew how to annoy him. It was funny and embarassing at the same time. He raised his eyebrows, giving her a strange look. "Hmph. Bye, Sis. Um...will you come and visit me tomorrow?"_

_"Sure, I will!" Tarina said, smiling, waving once more. "Bye, Hikaru!"_

_"Bye!" Hikaru said as the familiar bubbles started to rise from his body, as he started to fall and climb at the exact same time..._

_**...Meanwhile, In The Kingpin Kunais' Kitchen...**_

Omari sat at the kitchen table along with Nibbles, while sighing sadly and mixing a bowl of muffin mix. The holidays were here, and it was the first time in a long time that Kamichi and Haku and Tarina hadn't been there with her. Nibbles was a big help in mending her sorrowful feelings, but still. She was depressed.

"Hmm?" Nibbles cocked her head and looked up at Omari, curious. It was obvious she wanted to know what was on Omari's mind. She had learned to speak a few words over the past few months with the help of Omari, and she could understand almost everything a person said. But Omari was the one whom she could trust and understand the most. She sensed that Omari was sad.

"It's just not the same without Kamichi around here, you know?" Omari sighed.

"Who?" Nibbles was never familiar with names. She didn't even remember Slicer, Zamu, or Hikaru's names sometimes, let alone Kamichi's name. Nibbles hadn't seen Kamichi ever since she helped protect him during the first mission he had begged to come along on.

Omari wrinkled her eyebrows. "You know. Kamichi. The one who you helped save from a tracker dog a long time ago. It was about four or five years ago. Do you remember him now?"

"Hmm. I remember." Nibbles chirped in that squeaky voice of hers, nodding slightly (although her memory of that day was still a little hazy). "You miss Tarina and Haku and Zabuza, too?" She looked up to give her master an understanding look.

"Yes, Nibbles..." Omari sighed. "I miss them all. It's...it's just been so long..."

"Oh..." Nibbles sighed along with her. "I get it now..." She suddenly yawned and her eyes started to droop a little.

"You tired?" Omari looked down at her rabbit, sort of diappointed that she couldn't stay much longer. It was early in the morning, and, like most rabbits, Nibbles was energetic all night long, but plopped down to sleep as soon as the sun came up. Omari wasn't sure whether to call it nocturnal or not, because sometimes Nibbles' sleeping schedule changed.

"Yes..." Nibbles said sleepily. "I'm going back in the scroll now...too...sleepy..."

"Oh, okay..." Omari smiled gently, picking up her small rabbit and giving her a hug.

"Save me a muffin?" Nibbles looked up at Omari pleadingly.

"Of course." Omari chuckled lightly, kissing Nibbles' forehead. "Take a good, long, rest. You were alot of help today. I'll see you later, okay?"

"'Kay. Bye, Omari!" Nibbles responded lightly. She then twitched her little nose and poofed away in an instant.

Omari sighed. She picked up her mixing bowl and carried it over to the counter, where a silver muffin tin was waiting. She was just about to reach for her spoon when...

"Muffins!!! Miiiiine! Mineminemineminemineminemine!" An unfamiliar, crazed voice screeched from nowhere. "Mine mine mine!" Little quick footsteps were pitter-pattering across the wooden tile grounds, getting closer and closer to Omari by the second.

"What the-?!" Omari heard Slicer shout from the other room.

Omari whirled around in suprise to see a tiny, yellow-eyed shadow creature (wearing kid-sized red boxer shorts) racing torwards her, tongue hanging out of it's mouth. She screamed. It was practically a mini-version of the shadow-like monsters that Hikaru had summoned during their first showdown! It looked a little less feirce than the ones from before and didn't have the razor-sharp fangs, but it was still racing torwards Omari, which made her absolutley horrified.

"Heeeeeyy! Cyclone, get back here!!" Hikaru came racing in right behind the mini-shadow monster, still in his pajamas. "Leave Omari alone!"

"H-Hikaru?! What is that thing?! Eeeeek! It's on the counter!" Omari shrieked, her arms flailing all over the place in a panic. "Get it away from my muffins!"

"I want muffins! All mine!!" The mini-shadow monster (obviously called 'Cyclone') first high-jumped on the table, then leapt head-first into the very large mixing bowl (which was on the counter), bathing himself in all of Omari's hard work. He scooped out a clump with his hand and shoveled it into his mouth. "Muffins! Mmmmm..."

"No! Get down from there!" Hikaru called loudly, but the little monster couldn't hear him over Omari's desperate shrieks.

"My muffins! They're ruined!" Omari wailed, slapping her hands to the sides of her head. "Hikaru, what is that?! And get it off of the counter and out of my bowl!"

"Cyclone!! I command you to stop!" Hikaru screamed, using a strict, ordering tone that Omari had never heard Hikaru speak in.

Cyclone immediatley stopped devouring the gooey muffin mix. He swallowed and looked back at the very aggravated Hikaru. Everything went quiet.

"Now get out of that bowl and apologize to Omari. Then, clean yourself up and report back to my room as soon as possible." Hikaru commanded.

"Yes, Your Goonliness..." Cyclone grumbled, hopping out of the bowl, not even bothering to wipe his feet off on the dish towel Omari had offered him at that moment. He hopped down from the counter and approached his master, leaving a trail of wet muffin mix behind him. He turned in the other direction to face Omari, who was still staring at him in shock. "I'm sorry."

Omari didn't respond to the little monster. She angrily looked up at Hikaru. "What is this?!" She cried, guesturing to Hikaru's little friend. "It ruined all of my muffins!"

"Hey, goon, I said I was sorry!" Cyclone cried, waving his little sticky paws all over the place.

Omari flinched.

Hikaru sighed and rubbed his temples. "Omari...this is my old toady, Cyclone. You see, when I got up and was ready to get dressed into one of my older outfits, I found this little Summoning Scroll here in one of my pockets and uh...well, got a little curious. I'm sure you remember the shadow slaves I summoned at our first match. I thought I burned all of the scrolls when I arrived at Skyvoid Tower, but...I guess I forgot this one."

"But...how come it's not all...y'know, pointy and ugly...and...it's not trying to kill me?" Omari asked, confused. "Why is it so small?"

"He's just young and undeveloped..." Hikaru sighed, running his hand through his thick, straight hair. "And...really, really puny."

"Hey!!" Cyclone yelled, offended.

"Shut up, you lowly ingrate..." Hikaru growled at the little shadow slave. Then, he turned back to Omari. "He'll grow in a matter of months. He only hatched a few weeks ago, I bet. Young ones like this are always not trained properly to respect their masters. Soon, his big puppy eyes will turn into little beady ones, and he'll grow spikes and fangs. His little voice will mature into a big macho monsters voice, too, when he grows up."

"So...are you going to keep him inside of the scroll?" Omari asked.

"You know, I really shouldn't..." Hikaru considered this for a moment. "In his world, there's nobody left to take care of this little guy. It really wouldn't be fair. He'd just die in a couple of weeks without some elders around. We'll just have to house train him here, I guess." He said. "B-but don't worry. I promise that I'll keep him under control." He added quickly, catching Omari's worried glance.

"Okay...I'll trust you to keep your little pet's behavior under control." Omari sighed, although it sounded quite uncertain.

And yet, Cyclone was a very cute little thing, with big foxlike ears coming out the sides of his furry head, with his little pink nose and spiky fur on top of his head. Small, furry black wings were coming from his back, although Omari figured that he couldn't fly yet considering how he had to hop onto the counter to get the wet muffin mix. Omari fought the urge to grab Cyclone and hug him untill he exploded into bits. He was just adorable.

It was kind of weird how Cyclone also sounded just like little Hikaru. Like Hikaru, Cyclone had a strange style of speaking. It was kind of like an accent, but more of a "look-at-me-I'm-evil" tone of voice. Hikaru always spoke in a formal tone, but didn't have a very formal vocabulary. Cyclone was somehow born with those traits, too. Hikaru additonally cursed alot and used slang words frequently (kind of like Tarina), but Omari wasn't sure Cyclone knew such words yet.

And of course, Hikaru and Cyclone shared that same infamous "goon" habit. Omari had always found Hikaru's way of using the word "goon" adorable. But now, since there were two people saying it 24/7, Omari knew that it would get annoying in no time at all.

"Hey, Cyclone. Didn't you hear me? Clean yourself up, and then get outta here." Hikaru glared down at his mini-shadow slave.

"Yes, Your Goonliness..." Cyclone sighed.

"And...and quit callin' me that! I hate it when people use my word against me! It's so annoying!" Hikaru fumed.

Omari snorted.

"Whatever...Your _Highness_..." Cyclone hissed and hobbled over to Omari, and pulled slightly on her pant leg. She looked down at the knee-high monster and gave him a questioning look. Cyclone raised his arms at her and stood on his tippytoes, having a sort of pleading look in his big puppy eyes.

"Huh?" Omari was confused at first, having no idea what Cyclone was trying do. Then, she smiled and slapped her forehead in sudden realization. "Duh!" She laughed at herself. Finally understanding, she picked up Cyclone and plopped him in the sink. Of course. It was a common child's way of saying he wanted to be lifted.

Cyclone poured some dish soap in the sink he was sitting in, turned on the water, and started to give himself a bubble bath.

Omari giggled a bit, then turned back to Hikaru. "I'll watch Cyclone in here while you get dressed, okay, Hikaru?"

"Uh, thanks..." Hikaru blushed. "But...I sort of feel bad that your muffins got ruined. Oh, how about this? I'll go and get dressed, and then I'll help you bake a fresh batch. We can do it together."

"Oooh, _somebody_ has a crush..." Cyclone sang obnoxiously from the sink, seeing Hikaru's bright red face.

Omari forced herself not to burst into laughter.

Hikaru wanted to go over and punch the little demon, but he managed to control himself and ignore Cyclone's nasty comment. "Uh...so...what do you say?" Hikaru asked nervously to Omari, who looked sort of uncertain.

Omari was about to say 'no, thank you', but it was only fair to let Hikaru help her. It would be uncomfortable sitting in the kitchen all day baking holiday treats, but it would make Hikaru feel good about himself. She might as well make Hikaru happy by making him think that he made _her _happy, right?

"...Sure, Hikaru. I'd like that alot. Thank you." Omari said politley, smiling weakly.

Hikaru beamed proudly. "Okay, cool! I'll be back in a flash!"

_**...Fifteen Minutes Later...**_

Hikaru was now humming a cheery tune to himself while mixing the bowl of new muffin batter, while Omari sat next to him, spraying the muffin tin with vegetable oil. Cyclone was out of the bath, and now sat on Hikaru's shoulder, wearing little blue shorts and a clean pair of white socks. It was so cute, it was pathetic (literally).

Omari shifted positions in her kitchen chair, uncomfortable. Hikaru was sitting way too close to her, as if they were boyfriend and gilrfriend. His uncomfortably close precense was making Omari's stomach ache. She needed her space.

Hikaru suddenly sensed her nervousness. "Hey, Omari. Is something wrong?"

"Hmm? Uh...no! Not at all." Omari smiled shakily, going back to spraying the muffin tin (although she had already sprayed way too much on it). She stopped, taking a napkin and wiping some of the vegetable oil from some overloaded spots.

The real reason Omari was nervous was due to the fact that Hikaru and she were alone (unless you counted Cyclone). It was a perfect day. The beautiful snow was drifting lightly through the winter air, and there they were, sitting in the warm kitchen together, baking holiday treats. They were what any teen would call 'in the moment'.

Hikaru had turned out to be a much more sweethearted boy that Omari had ever imagined. The demon out of him had turned him into a better person, no doubt about it. And yet, Hikaru had his 'Tarina's touch' and acted a bit obnoxious sometimes, but that was okay. He still said "goon" at least twenty times a day in every little conversation, but that was okay. And Hikaru still fought with Zamu and pushed Slicer's patience to the edge, but that was all okay. Those everyday things that Hikaru did ever since he was little...seemed so normal and comforting.

The problem was that Hikaru's attitude torwards Omari had completley changed. Him being a sweetheart _was _the problem. He had gone from nice to completley overobsessed with her. It felt so _ab_normal and_ un_comfortable. Of course, when they were the original Kingpin Kunais, little Hikaru had always been obsessed, but still tended to act coldly torwards Omari.

_This _Hikaru, however, wasn't cold torwards Omari at all. Hikaru was always following her around nowadays, asking her to do stuff with him, such as play board games or take a 'little walk' or something. Omari feared that those simple requests would turn into major ones in the future. Something like, 'Will you go out with me?'. Or maybe even later in the future, 'Will you kiss me?', or, 'Will you marry me?'.

Soon, he would be giving her stuff, wanting to win her over with jewelry and such. Soon, he would even try to kiss her. Would Omari let him? That was the big question. And yet, it wasn't like the kiss from Hikaru would be her first. Due to a few accidental (and forced) events, of course, she and Hikaru had kissed before. But, Omari certainly hadn't chosen to kiss him during the times where Hikaru was an absolute whackjob and had forced it on her.

It was all so weird and uncomfortable to Omari...she was so uncertain of this kid, it made her head spin every time she thought about it.

Hikaru knew what the problem was. He smiled to himself. He knew he was making Omari very uncomfortable. Soon, Omari would act very protective of herself around him all of the time, which was kind of fun for Hikaru when she was like that. He liked it when they were 'in the moment'. It was also funny to look at Omari's super-scared face. During those uncomfortable times, Omari sometimes hugged herself as if Hikaru was about to grab her, drag her in a dark closet, lock the door, and force her to make out with him.

_Now THAT would be fun thing to do... _Hikaru couldn't help thinking with an evil smirk. Of course, he would never do such a sick and vile thing to Omari, but picturing it in his head had always entertained him. He had never even considered doing something as nasty as that. Besides, Slicer and Zamu would murder him for forcing Omari to do anything. Being evil and being in the Kingpin Kunais' hideout with everyone else would have been fun. He could have done whatever he wanted to bother Omari. He could pull pranks on everyone and do what he wanted to.

But, those days were over. He had a bigger and better thing to focus on now, which was making himself a useful ninja and being strong for Omari. He had to protect her.

But that sure didn't mean that Hikaru still couldn't make her feel scared just to please him. Hikaru tried to supress his laughter. "Hey, Omari..." He said, wanting to start a conversation with her.

"Yes?" Omari responded quietly.

"Remember the first time we kissed?" Hikaru grinned, picking the one topic that flew right over the border of Omari's mental comfort zone.

Cyclone laughed.

Omari froze. "Uh...Uhm...y-yes. I-I remember it." She almost grimaced, remembering how Tarina had forced them to kiss when they were about six years old.

Tarina and Omari had been playing Truth or Dare on a rainy Saturday, since they had nothing to do. Tarina had dared Omari to go in Hikaru's room and kiss him on the mouth, which had caused Omari to panic. After Tarina had laughed for about thirty seconds, she stopped to hear Omari's answer. Omari had flatly refused to do the dare, but that sure didn't matter to Tarina.

Tarina had shoved Omari right into Hikaru's room. When little Hikaru had glared at the two of them and asked what did they think they were doing in his room, Tarina had grabbed both of their little heads and shoved them together in a really long, unexpected kiss. Omari had gasped in pure shock, and little Hikaru had fainted the second Tarina had let them go. Omari had ended up screaming out in embarassment and frustration, and had chased the hysterical Tarina all over the hideout, both leaving the shocked little Hikaru on the floor in his room, half-conscious.

Hikaru laughed. "I was totally knocked out cold from the kiss. I really wasn't expecting it." He said, while Cyclone had taken the opportunity to lean down, scoop up a big handful of muffin batter, and hungrily stuff it in his mouth before Hikaru had noticed it.

The way Hikaru had gotten into the conversation so smoothly somehow made Omari even more nervous, but that day _was _pretty hilaruious. She giggled along with him. "Yeah. I don't even remember how or when I had forgiven Tarina for doing that to us. I was so mad, I had tried to hit her a bunch of times, but she either dodged or just laughed at me. And then, when I had finally punched Tarina's arm as hard as I could, she just laughed hysterically and punched _me_ in the arm. And that had hurt."

Hikaru giggled. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't mad about it at all. I think...I think I ended up thanking her the night it happened!"

All three of them laughed. Omari's was kind of a fake laugh, but she made it realistic. Well, part of it _was_ realistic, since she thought it was cute that Hikaru even had a really big crush on her then and actually thanked his older sister for making them kiss. The other part of the laugh was from sheer nervousness, since this conversation obviously meant that Hikaru was always thinking about kissing her.

_I had better watch out..._ Omari thought nervously. _If I end up ignoring him too much and don't accept what he's trying to do for me, he could go crazy and get even worse!! Maybe even drag me into a dark room and try to make out with me! _She shuddered at the very thought. Not that it was super-duper sickening or anything, but when Hikaru meant something and was forceful about it, there was no stopping him.

No matter how nice and calm Hikaru was being torwards Omari now, she knew that she had to be careful.

_**...A Few Hours Later...**_

After thinking of the possibilities of how Hikaru could go nuts again, Omari had made herself desperatley worried. If Omari didn't give her fair share of love to Hikaru soon, she also feared that he could hurt himself because he would be so depressed.

But...admittedly, she was more worried about _her_ well-being more than Hikaru's when it came to this.

Hikaru was a definatley more impatient kid than Omari was, after all. Hikaru was probably the most quick-witted, decisive person Omari had ever met. When Hikaru decided something, he wanted his decided result to happen right at that moment. Slicer was a quick thinker too, but he usually acted before he thought, which didn't count if you really thought it over.

Omari now lay on her bed, gazing at the ceiling. She wondered if Haku, Tarina, and Zabuza would come and visit her tonight. She sure hoped so, because she had alot on her mind lately. She also missed them so much...

"Hey!! Omari!" Came a young voice from her doorway.

Omari turned to see Cyclone stepping torwards her with a shy look on her face. "What is it?" She asked neutrally, trying to hide her adoring, cooing tone that she wanted to use with such a cute little creature.

"Um...well...I was wondering..." Cyclone said, twiddling his thumbs. "Um...can I have another muffin?! I asked Hikaru, but he said to ask you since they were yours. C-Can I have one more?! Please?!"

Omari smiled pleasantly. "Of course you can, sweetiepie!" She giggled. Then, out of pure affection, she picked up the young shadow slave and plopped him on the bed. She started playing with him and tickling him. It was so weird that she had actually found Cyclone scary at first, but then fell in love with him in a matter of hours. He was just so cute.

Cyclone giggled and squirmed as Omari was obsessing and rubbing his little stomach, as any playful mother would with her newborn baby's belly. Omari hugged him, and somehow, she felt almost...happy. It was like waves of joy were entering her body as Cyclone's furry little body came in contact with her. It felt good to love again. It felt good to hug someone and laugh with them, with no holding back or regrets...

Hikaru suddenly came in the doorway for something. He spotted Cyclone and Omari playing and laughing hysterically on the bed, and smiled to himself. People were so weird. It was the simplest of things that amused them. "Hey. Omari."

"Huh?" Omari looked up from Cyclone to Hikaru, a little embarassed from Hikaru seeing her have her little episode.

Hikaru merely laughed. "You know, young shadow slaves have a special ability to make people smile and feel temporary relief from all of their troubles..." He said to her. "So, not only are they cute and sweet, but they can make you feel good as well if you touch them. Well, of course, their cute charm doesn't work on me because I made every single one of those goons and used to have to put up with their garbage every single day."

"But he's soooooo cute! I just couldn't resist his little belly!" Omari squealed. She then pulled herself together, clearing her throat and sitting up in her bed along with Cyclone with a somewhat embarassed look on her face. "So...uh...did you need anything?"

"Uh, not really. I just came up to tell you that someone's at the door for you." Hikaru shrugged.

"Hmm...I wonder who it could be. Well, thanks for letting me know, Hikaru!" Omari flashed him a grateful smile, making him blush slightly. She stood up from her bed and went to the front door, while Cyclone raced to the kitchen to help himself to the muffin platter.

Omari looked down at who was at the door. She gasped in shock. "R-Ryo! Tomozaku! What brings you guys here??" She asked worriedly, stepping aside so they could walk in. She knew something was wrong by the look on their faces. Well, nowadays, they always looked as if something was wrong.

Ever since Ryo had been in that near-death experience with his arm being cut off. Kamichi had thought Ryo was dead back at the hideout before running away, but he really wasn't. Ryo had just fainted from the sudden loss of blood and was dying, but the beaten bloody Tomozaku had escaped from the ropes that had tied him up and raced Ryo to the hospital, getting him fixed just in time. Ryo now wore a fake arm. He really didn't like to show it much, so it was always wrapped in white bandages.

"Hey, Omari..." Ryo sniffed.

"Yeah...hi." Tomozaku (the little kid who kind of looks like Slicer) greeted weakly. He then shrugged. "We...we were just bored and stopped by to see you, so..."

"Oh, that's fine, then." Omari said in a somewhat relieved tone. She thought something was terribly wrong at first. It wasn't like Tomozaku and Ryo just to stop by for a chat. "Um...do you guys want a blueberry muffin? They came out of the oven about an hour ago..." She offered, really not knowing what they wanted to 'see her' about.

"No, thank you." Ryo and Tomozaku said in unison without even looking at Omari or the muffins.

Omari gave the two of them a weird look. "Is there...something wrong? I mean, do you want to talk in my room or something?" She asked gently.

"Uh...yeah. That'd be fine." Ryo smiled weakly as he and Tomozaku automatically walked upstairs to Omari's bedroom.

"Hmm...what's their problem?" Omari mumbled to herself. She half-turned to Hikaru, who was staring at her from the kitchen table. Cyclone had eaten his muffin already and was now napping in Hikaru's room, and so Hikaru had nothing to do now. "Do you know what's wrong with them? Like, did they do something bad or...?" Omari asked.

Hikaru shrugged. Obviously, he didn't meddle in Squad 99's business. He wasn't even interested. All's he was interested in for now was being with Omari. Whatever Ryo, Slicer's mini-me, and Omari were going to do in her room, Hikaru wanted to be there for one reason only.

Well...and that was because Omari was going to be in there, of course.

As Omari sighed and started to walk away, Hikaru mutely hopped down from his chair and quietly started after her.

Hikaru cringed as he felt a strong hand (out of nowhere) suddenly grab his wrist from behind. He turned to glare at whoever was restraining him.

"No," Zamu said firmly, shaking his head. Slicer was standing right next to him, glaring down at Hikaru with his arms crossed. "No."

"What the-?! How'd you get in here, Smarty-goon?! And what do you think you're doing to me?!" Hikaru hissed angrily as he watched Omari walk away.

"Why can't you just leave her alone once in a while?!" Zamu hissed back as Hikaru wrenched his hand away from him. "Give the girl some space, would ya? It's obvious that Omari doesn't want you around her! Otherwise, you guys would have been really, really close."

"Wh-What's it to you!? You don't love Omari! Why can't you just stay out of this?!" Hikaru cried.

Slicer, still glaring at him, spoke in a low, threatening tone. "Listen, kid. If me or Zamu _ever_ catch you laying a finger on Omari when she doesn't want to be touched, you're dead meat."

Hikaru flinched and backed up a few steps, but then regained his confidence and scowled at the two of them. "Why don't you trust me?"

"Because we don't! You and I both know very well that Omari's not sure of her feelings for you! You're making her feel totally uncomfortable and unsafe in her own home. And she'll probably never forget when you forced her to kiss you. Like you always say, love takes time. Now just give her some time!" Zamu growled.

"Okay, whatever. I...I already understand that." Hikaru lied. "But, you know, you guys didn't have to threaten me like that."

"Yeah, we did. Because if we didn't, then you'd never leave Omari alone. Not once." Slicer growled. "And what we said was true. We'll seriously mess you up if either one of us catches you trying to get near her when she doesn't want to be bothered. Got that?"

Hikaru was still glowering at them, not saying a word.

"I SAID, do you got that?!" Slicer growled, taking a big step forward.

"...Yeah. I got it." Hikaru huffed, then walked away.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

"We're just not the same anymore..." Ryo shrugged, sighing. "I don't know what it is. I'm...I just feel totally disgruntled and upset. And it's not because of my arm. It's Kamichi. I'm worried about him. I want to know what happened to him, yet I feel so supicious and hateful torwards him after letting that kid amputate my arm!"

"I...I feel the same way, too." Tomozaku said, scratching his head full of messy red hair. "Kamichi never really had any true respect for me, but I _never _expected him to cave in like that and allow that creep of a leader to hurt Ryo. I never even expected him to end up with Squad 101! They were famous for their strength and mecilessness. And Kamichi qualified to be one of them. We never thought that he was _that_ bad..."

"He's not that bad! Really! He's just as depressed as you are! He didn't mean any harm." Omari frantically assured them, sort of feeling a need to defend Kamichi.

"How would you know? How would any of us know?" Ryo replied calmly. "We haven't seen him in over a year. For all we know, Kamichi could be captured or..."

"Dead." Tomozaku added stonily.

Omari let out a shocked, suprised cry. "D-Don't say that! We don't want Kamichi dead!" She shrilled in a frightened voice. Great. Now she had another thing to worry about every single moment.

"Hmm...I guess not." Ryo shrugged nonchalantly, pushing his glasses up past the bridge of his nose. "We're sorry for scaring you, but what we're trying to say is that we don't know anything. He's probably moved to some other village or something. He could look totally different by now!"

"And we want to know what happened to him." Tomozaku said. "By us not knowing Kamichi's condition and everything, we feel...well, upset. He _was_ on our squad for quite a while, you know. We never liked him much, but we care."

"Not in a nice way, though." Ryo said quickly. "Not after what he did. The right word that we're feeling is well, curious. Horribly curious. It's the kind of curious that makes you rant and rave about it all day long untill you find out what happens."

"That's how I feel, too..." Omari sighed, putting her hand on her chin. "It's almost unbearable. If he was ever in danger, we could never find him and help him. Even Kamichi himself was unsure of where he was going. He could be lost." She said, although these what-if suggestions were getting to her. It was making her feel even more down than before. And yet, it felt good to talk to someone who was wondering about Kamichi and wasn't afraid to talk about their beliefs or feelings. She wished she had Cyclone near her so she could cuddle him...

"But, then again, he's the one chose his new life's path. I mean, he's not stupid. He must be somewhere by now, doing whatever he wants." Tomozaku said.

"And, he brought his friend with him." Omari said, her voice starting to get a bit more positive. "So...at least he's not all alone, right?"

"Did he take a girl with him? From Squad 101?" Ryo asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes." Omari nodded, not knowing why Ryo cared so much.

"Hmm. It was probably that one girl, huh? The one with the short purple hair. The one who also stopped that one kid Masakaru from hurting me too much." Tomozaku said thoughtfully. "She just seems to be the type of girl who would like Kamichi."

"Yeah, that was her. Kouki was the one who went with Kamichi." Omari said, nodding, straining to recall the girl's name.

"Well then, if Kamichi's got a girlfriend with him, then he _must _be fine...to some extent, anyway." Ryo said, shrugging again.

"I...I don't know." Omari said quietly, looking down. A few tears trickled down her cheeks. She missed Kamichi so much, it was pathetic. "I...I just hope that...wherever he is, he's okay. That's my one and only wish."

_**...OK!! Turn To The FINAL Chapter (of this half, that is)!!...**_

_**...So, wha'd you think of that chapter? Personally, I liked it better than the last chapter. This chapter was actually 'getting somehwere' instead of just a bunch of people hugging each other and saying stuff, like Chapter 27. This chapter revealed alot of feelings, AND revealed that Ryo's still alive.**_

_**...o.o YAAAAYYY!!**_

_**...Ahem. So, as you can see, there will be a bit more of Ryo, Tomozaku, Cyclone (the Shadow Dude), and a brand-new character coming up in the second part of the series coming out soon. ALSO in the second part of the series, there will be more of Midori and Masakaru's squad, Master Atoshi (yayness), Cocoa (Master Atoshi's kitty xD), Kouki, and...KAMICHI!! (jumps up and down for no reason in particular)**_

_**So, HOPEFULLY, the return of some characters and upcoming new ones will persuade you to read the next part of the series, which will probably be much longer than this story.**_

_**Please tell me in your review whether you want to read the continuation of this story or not so I can tell you what the title is in my reply (so you can save it)!!!!! I need to know for your benefit!!**_

_**Anyway, thank you for reading this chapter and coming this far in the series!! I'm so proud of you!! (wipes tears and gives all the readers a box of cookies)**_

_**...OK, you can leave this page now. Either go read another story or something, or READ THE NEXT CHAPTER (if you haven't done so already or if it's even released yet)!!**_


	29. The End: 2: Omari's Dagger

_**...The End: 2: Omari's Dagger...**_

Hikaru rolled over in his bed, moaning slightly as he started to open his eyes a bit, letting the morning lights shine through them. He sensed it was very early in the morning, considering the dreariness of the light outside. The sky was a bit dim and pinkish, and the sun had just started coming up.

Hikaru reached up and scratched his now messy bed-head, trying to get his eyes open wider so everything wouldn't seem so blurry.

It didn't work. It was always like this for him in the morning. He needed a quick pick-me-up to get him up and moving. He felt antsy, but he just couldn't get himself out of bed...

"Good morning, Master!!" Sang a childish, obnoxious little voice to the right of his bed.

As soon as Hikaru was about to turn and grump at Cyclone for bothering him so early in the morning, a huge splash of water suddenly blasted him in the face. "Aaaagh!" He sputtered, choking slightly. He automatically picked up his sheets and wiped his dripping face. He turned to glare at Cyclone, who was smiling innocently and holding a bucket that now held no water in it. "You worthless little goon! How DARE you!" He screamed in fury, sitting up abruptly in his bed(although he had to admit that Cyclone had helped wake him up).

"Whassup, Your Goonliness?" Cyclone flashed Hikaru a very pleasant, innocent smile. "My, you're looking miserable today."

Hikaru was about to explode again, but then sighed, finally deciding to let it go. If Hikaru did that, then Cyclone would only flatly apologize, then play innocent the rest of the day if Hikaru bothered and bullied him the rest of the day. He chose to just calm down and change the subject to make him forget about it. "So...you slept in Omari's room, huh?"

"Yup. Right at the foot of her bed." Cyclone said, then suddenly smiled evilly. "You jealous?"

"What?! Ew! No!! That's totally wrong, Cyclone." Hikaru grumbled defensively. "You're a pet. I'm a human. There's a difference between the ways our minds work and set standards for ourselves. Pets are _meant_ to sleep at the foot of people's beds. When it comes to humans, it's totally different."

"It's okay, Your Goonliness." Cyclone lightly patted Hikaru's angry-looking head with a soft kitten paw. "It's okay if you're a bit jealous of me. Omari's awfully cute, after all. I can understand perfectly."

"I am SO not jealous of you!!" Hikaru shot back. He then smirked triumphantly and crossed his arms. "Besides, Omari just thinks your a precious little thing that she can tickle and play with right now. She has no idea what she's in for later on in the year. You'll be as big and mean-looking as ever."

Cyclone shrugged. "Who cares about later in life? We're talking about now. Omari loves me _now._"

Hikaru tried his best to hide his furiously jealous mood, but it just wasn't working out too well. "Oh, yeah? Well, you'd never have a _real _chance with Omari, anyway. She thinks you're 'cute' in the way she'd think a baby is cute. Not the boyfriend-girlfriend 'cute'. So ha!" Hikaru grinned, flashing Cyclone what was supossed to be a mean look.

Cyclone merely laughed. "I already know that. But it's better when you're treated like you're 'baby-cute' anyway. You can get whatever you want whenever you want. People are always adoring you and willing to make you feel comfortable in any way possible. I wouldn't want her kissing me and stuff, anywho. That's _your_ job, Your Jealousiness." Cyclone giggled.

Hikaru glared at him.

"Oh, c'mon. Don't you wish you were me, just for a minute?" Cyclone pressed, smirking. "I know that you do, so let's hear it."

"Okay, okay! Maybe I wish I were you, only for one minute. But that's only because Omari's giving you lots of attention and stuff. Not because I would want to be one of you pathetic little goons." Hikaru harumphed, finally admitting that he was jealous of all the affection and attention Omari was giving Cyclone. "And...and...I don't love Omari THAT much, anyway."

"Oh, come now, Your Goonliness!" Cyclone laughed. "I'm you. I was created from _your_ original evil personality. You really shouldn't have to hide things like this from me because I already know. You're so obsessed with this Omari girl, that I think it would be safe to say that you're mentally unhealthy. Luckily, that particular trait didn't rub off on me."

"What?! Mentally unhealthy?!"

"Yeah." Cyclone grinned with a nod. "All you think about is her because you've got nothing better to do. And even when winter is over and you'll be flooded with missions, Omari will _still_ be the first thing on your mind. It's obvious that you want to go out with her and kiss her and stuff."

"Okay, whatever, goon. Just don't talk to Omari about it, you got that?" Hikaru growled. "It's embarassing _and_ it makes Omari feel uncomfortable. And if you disobey my orders, I'll take your little goony head and squeeze it untill-"

"Yes, Your Goonliness. I get it." Cyclone rolled his eyes.

They stayed silent for a couple seconds, and Hikaru began to feel very, very agitated. And it wasn't because of Cyclone's cocky 'Your Goonliness' habit. "Hey, Cyclone. Exactly _what_ did you want in here, anyway?" Hikaru grumped, crossing his arms. He wished Cyclone would get out of his room already so he could go back to sleep.

"I wanted to borrow one of your pillows," Cyclone said, shrugging. "I'm making a fortress!"

Shocked and puzzled silence struck Hikaru for a moment, but then he nearly smiled as he remembered that every one of Cyclone's species immediatley adapted to the castle/fortress life from birth. They were castle servants, just like Hikaru had made them to be. Cyclone wanted to feel more at home. "Uh...sure. Take that one, over there." Hikaru shrugged, pointing to a fluffy, navy-colored pillow.

"Thank you, Your Goonliness. I'll leave you alone after this." Cyclone grinned, hopping up on Hikaru's bed and removing the pillow. He suddenly stopped and stared at the space where the pillow used to be. "...Hey, what's this?"

"What's what?" Hikaru asked, shooting Cyclone a weird look.

"You keep daggers under your pillows?"

"Huh?" Hikaru asked. He scooted to the other side of his bed where Cyclone was, and stared down at the space of the matress Cyclone seemed to be so concerned with. "Huh?! Wh-what is that? Why do I have a dagger under my pillow?"

Cyclone picked up the bloodstained dagger and stared hard at it. "Yeah. This dagger sure doesn't look like yours. The blade's all jagged and shaped like a lightning bolt. But...who would put it there, and why?"

Hikaru shrugged, slightly unnerved to find that such a crude weapon had been found underneath his favorite pillow.

Cyclone stared even harder at it. "Hey...look at that crystalized symbol on the handle. And the decorations. There are two little goldish dashes across the handle. Sort of reminds you of those golden pretty little markings on Omari's cheeks, doesn't it?"

Hikaru just scratched his head in wonder, staring at the thing for about ten more seconds...

Then, it hit him.

Hikaru gasped loudly, snatching the dagger from Cyclone's hand and looked even closer. "No WAY! Oh, man! This...this is Omari's dagger!"

Cyclone looked confused. "So? If it's hers, then why would she put it under your pillow?"

"BECAUSE! Look at that symbol painted on the middle of the golden crystal! It's the exact same one that forms in Omari's eyes when she releases her Kekkei Genkai! Tarina must have left it for me to take care of it!" Hikaru screamed in horror, trembling.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down!" Cyclone cried, waving his arms all over the place. "I'm not getting any of this!"

"Just...nevermind! You wouldn't get it, anyway. To make a long story short, Omari's not entirely what you would call a regular human. She's done some wild and homocidal things with this dagger in the past, and Tarina had rediscovered it a while back. She carried it around everywhere, even when she was dead. Now, Tarina can't hang onto it anymore for some reason, and now she's left it up to me!!" Hikaru cried, breathless.

"Why can't you just give it back to Omari?" Cyclone shrugged, still not getting any of this.

"Because if she sees it even once before her eighteenth birthday, then she'll totally flip out and kill us all!! I have to hide it from her and keep it a secret! It's my job to protect her." Hikaru said in the most heroic tone he could muster, although he knew that he sounded like a scared little baby right about now.

"Can't you just tell her about it and tell her where you're hiding it so she knows not to go near the dagger??" Cyclone asked curiously, still very confused.

"NO! Are you crazy?! Tarina said that telling her about it will cause Omari to experience massive confusion, mind convulsion, and eventually, early realization of what she really is!" Hikaru shrieked.

"...Oh. I-I didn't know." Cyclone said in a slightly scared voice, eyes widened. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna have to carry it around and keep it away from Omari 'till the minute she turns eighteen!" Hikaru said in a hushed, frightened whisper. "Although I don't like keeping secrets, this is for Omari. I have to hide it from her to- hey, what's your problem? Stop hitting me like that!" Hikaru growled at Cyclone, who was frantically slapping his arm and staring at the door, frightened.

"B-B-But look!" Cyclone whispered furiously, pointing.

Hikaru sighed dramatically and looked up. His eyes widened and he screamed. "O-Omari!! Wha-what brings you here?!" He asked in a squeaky, innocent voice, quickly stuffing the dagger in his pajama pockets and pulling his blankets over his lap.

Omari just stood there in front of the two shaking boys, arms crossed. The expression on her face was a cross between anger and suspicion. "Is there something you two would like to tell me?"

"Uuuaaaahhh!" Cyclone and Hikaru screamed in unison, their eyes bulging. "Nope! No! Nuh-uh! There's nothing we want to tell you!!"

Omari just stared at them angrily, her arms still crossed. "Well, I came in here to see what all of the fuss was about...and I guess I'm not gonna find out anytime soon, am I?"

"Wha?! Whaddya talkin' about?" Hikaru said with a wobbly, goofy smile on his face. "We're not fussing about anything. We're not hiding anything. We promise."

"No, you guys are totally lying. I overheard you saying my name and saying something about you not wanting to hide things from me. And I _know _you're hiding something under those covers, because I saw a glimpse of whatever it was when I walked in. You think I'm stupid or something?" Omari asked, getting angrier by the second.

"N-No! You...you're not stupid! You're super-smart!" Hikaru grinned at her nervously, recieving a hard slap on the arm by Cyclone. Hikaru would have slapped himself, too. That had sounded totally fake and corny.

Omari sighed. "Just show me what you're hiding. I know that you're keeping something from me. You're not doing a very good job of keeping it a secret, whatever it is. I can totally see through your lies, and besides, it's not good to hide things from your leader."

Hikaru and Cyclone just sat there, trembling.

"C'mon, you guys! I'm sure it isn't _that_ bad. I mean, I'm a pretty easygoing person. It's not like I would kill you or anything if I ever saw it, right?" Omari laughed.

"Well, heh...on the contrary, I think you _would_ kill us." Hikaru giggled nervously, trembling so hard that he was actually shaking the whole bed and Cyclone. If she ever saw the dagger, then all would be lost. They would be dead meat. The whole team's lives was in Hikaru's hands at this very moment and beyond. Nothing could be more frightening than that.

Well, there was actually one thing more frightening than that. And it was Omari actually _seeing _the dagger. Then, they'd be in some real trouble.

Omari put her hands on her hips. "What, is it an embarassing picture of me or somethin'?"

"No." Hikaru said quickly. "I-It's not."

Omari looked confused. "Well, what is it, then? Is it...is it one of those magazines of naked girls or something?"

"NO! What kind of sicko dude do you think I am?!" Hikaru shrieked, appalled that Omari would even _think_ that he would ever look at such garbage. "J-Just stop guessing! Please! It's not about you! Well...okay, maybe it is, but it's not offensive in any way! It's...it's a..."

"Suprise!" Cyclone blurted with a sweet smile on his face. "We're, uh, only allowed to give it to you when you're older so...hurry up and have an eighteenth birthday so you can find out- oww!" Cyclone yelped as Hikaru thunked his head and sent him tumbling off of the bed and onto the ground.

"I highly doubt that." Omari said, her eyes glowing with longing and hostility. She suddenly reached down and none too gently lifted Cyclone from the ground with one hand by the scruff of his neck.

"Heeeeyy! What're you doing to me?! That hurts!" Cyclone cried, squirming against her tight grasp. "Shadow slaves like me aren't made to be picked up like that, no matter what's in the back of my neck!!"

"I don't care," Omari glowered right into Cyclone's worried eyes. "I'm _not_ putting you down untill you tell me what's going on here!"

Cyclone continued to squirm. He even tried biting Omari, but he didn't have any fangs to inject poison or bring any type of pain. Omari almost laughed at the pitiful attempts. Young shadow slaves actually brought happiness through contact, and Cyclone's 'severe' biting wasn't doing anything about it.

With another loud, pitiful squeal, Cyclone finally put his hands together and started to make a few fake hand signs.

Omari's eyes widened and she dropped Cyclone immediatley, having been threatened with whatever jutsu Cyclone had in mind. They were fake hand signs, but Omari sure didn't know that.

"Hurry! Give it to me!!" Cyclone squealed to Hikaru, dodging as Omari lunged for him again.

Hikaru quickly passed the dagger to Cyclone, who put it in his hidden stomach pouch, then raced out of Hikaru's bedroom door as fast as he could, out to hide the dagger where Omari would never find it.

"Hey! Come back here!" Omari screamed, starting to race after Cyclone. People hiding things from her was her number one pet peeve. She knew that something was seriously wrong here. There was something important that Cyclone and Hikaru was hiding. She could tell by the terrified look in their eyes. It wasn't normal.

"No! Omari!" Hikaru cried out in fright, jumping out of bed and running after Omari and Cyclone. _Oh, man! What if Cyclone gets caught and Omari gets the dagger?! I don't wanna get my heart ripped out!!_

"Aaaah!" Cyclone shrieked as he raced right into the storage room without thinking, with Omari right behind him.

With an evil-looking smirk, Omari quickly shut the door to the storage room behind them and went on with chasing him. There was no way Cyclone could get out by himself now. Cyclone was too little to reach the doorknob, and would get caught before he had time to power up a high-jump.

"Noooo! Cyclone, you idiot, you just cornered yourself!" Hikaru screeched, slapping his hands to his head. They were all dead meat. Omari would catch Cyclone in a second, despite his agility. Cyclone had just ran them all into death.

Unless...

Hikaru had to find a way to restrain Omari, keep her busy, and buy Cyclone more time. And he had to buy it with a capital "B", because he feared that he would have to pay for what he was about to do.

There was only one thing to do that would stun/keep Omari busy untill Cyclone ran out of the room, and it didn't have to do with fighting.

Hikaru gulped and took a deep breath, then ran and loudly burst open the door as Omari was just about to grab Cyclone. Cyclone glanced back and forth to Omari and Hikaru in horror, wondering what he should do next. Omari was a bit suprised by Hikaru's dramatic enterance, but didn't take her eyes off of her prey.

Omari suddenly dove for Cyclone again. She ended up grabbing the middle of his tail tail, which caused Cyclone to scream out in agony. If only Omari had grabbed the end of Cyclone's tail (which had a black, pointed, spear-like structure attatched to it), then it would have hurt her. But, of course, there was no such luck.

Cyclone was helpless as he tried running away with all of his strength, but Omari was sucessfully reeling him in with a triumphant leer in her eyes. "Now I'm finally gonna see what you two were hiding from me!"

"Nooo!" Cyclone screamed out, still furiously running in place as Omari was pulling on him. He felt as if his wonderful tail was going to be ripped off, but it was better than being killed.

"Just...stop it!" Omari grunted loudly as she yanked harder, trying to pull Cyclone backwards so she could grab him with a firmer hold and snatch up whatever was in his stomach pouch. "Stop...restraining...! Let...me...see...what...you're- heeey!" Omari screeched in suprise as Hikaru suddenly yanked Omari away from Cyclone, automatically letting go of his tail.

Cyclone shot forward and slammed head-first into the wall after Omari let go of his furry, stretchy tail, but it didn't hurt that much. Cyclone quicky took the opportunity to stand up and start to tiptoe out of the room so Omari (who was fumbling with Hikaru) wouldn't notice and fight Hikaru even harder.

Hikaru finally let go of Omari, but Omari ended up stumbling to her knees, not expecting Hikaru to let go of her all of a sudden.

_Remember...you're doing this for everyone, including Omari. Even if Slicer and Zamu beat you half to death, it's better than all of us dying, right? You just need to buy Cyclone a few more seconds to get outta the room and hide the dagger... _Hikaru quickly and silently told himself as he saw Cyclone quickly and quietly slip out of the door to hide Omari's dagger.

Just as Omari was about to recover from the fall and stand, Hikaru dropped to his knees, grabbed Omari, held her down to the ground, and heavily kissed her on the mouth for a long, long time.

Omari gasped and her eyes became huge, but she was too stunned, scared, and appalled to fight back. Hikaru was holding onto her too tightly, anyway. There was no way she could break loose unless Hikaru let her go. Her mind was racing, and she didn't know what to do. It was just too shocking. About a million _what-ifs _ran though her head, and she didn't know what would happen next.

Hikaru took one hand and ran it through Omari's smooth black hair affectionatley, and Omari started to feel even more angry than before. Omari knew that Hikaru was just trying to buy Cyclone some time, but now Hikaru was starting to take advantage of it. She would make Hikaru pay for this as soon as he let go of her...

After a few more seconds of Hikaru kissing Omari, Cyclone walked in with a super-relieved look on his face. "Alright, Your Goonliness. Everything's fine now. I took care of the-" When he suddenly caught sight of Hikaru and Omari, he nearly gagged. "Oh, ew! _Eeeeeeew! _You're SO disgusting, kissing Omari like that! Get off of her!" He had never expected Hikaru to stall Omari in such a..._lovey-dovey_ manner. He was absolutley appalled by his master's behavior.

Realizing with disappointment that the coast was clear, the blushing Hikaru quickly sat up, cleared his throat, and backed away from the shocked and appalled Omari. "Uh...okay." He then cringed as he caught sight of Omari. "Uuuh..."

Omari just stared at him, wide-eyed. "Y-You...I...and..." She stammered in a unbelieving, squeaky tone. Her trembling hand slowly traveled from the floor to her lips.

Hikaru quickly stood, backing up a few steps. "I-I'm sorry..." He said. "We...just had to...hide the..." He quivered as Omari stood shakily and just kept on staring. He expected Omari to hit him, considering what she had done the last time. Maybe this time was a bit different, but it was quite unlikely. Hikaru involuntarily running his hand through her hair made it seem like he had done it on purpose.

Omari just stared.

Cyclone just stared at the two of them, wondering if Omari was going to beat up Hikaru or not.

"I gather...that you're going to beat me senseless now...aren't you?" Hikaru asked nervously, but his heart was jumping for joy all the while. He had saved the team and many others from a very gory termination, _and_ he had kissed Omari. And best of all, his kiss had stunned Omari enough to make her temporarily forget about the hidden dagger. But, there was a small price to pay for almost every bold action done. This just happened to be one of them.

"...Not yet." Came Omari's reply. Her voice still sounded haunted. Her face was bright red. She had almost completley forgotten about the thing Hikaru and Cyclone had been hiding from her. The only thing she cared about at the moment was what Hikaru had just done to her. "I'll...I'll get you back...later. I...I'm just gonna take a little walk..." Omari felt the sudden urge to be by herself for a while. Her feelings now were a mix between shock, anger, and embarassment.

"Uh...uh...okay..." Hikaru stammered as he let the now stiff-looking Omari pass by him to the doorway.

When she had walked out of the storage room's door, Cyclone and Hikaru exchanged significant looks, then shrugged.

"Well, that was kind of fun." Hikaru shrugged, smiling.

"I thought you were dead meat for sure!" Cyclone exclaimed. "Kissing her like that!"

"I thought we were all dead meat," Hikaru said, taking a big sigh of relief. "Anyway, about what you said, I'm not sure if she's gonna tell on me to Slicer or Zamu, or get back at me herself. Either way, I still could get in big trouble."

"Well I, for one, think that she kind of liked it," Cyclone said with a small, sly smirk. "Omari may still beat you up for what you did, but only to cover up for her enjoyment of the kiss. Maybe she doesn't want you to know that she likes you."

Hikaru shrugged. He'd just have to wait and see. He still felt absolutley weird and kind of sorry for it. Zamu and Slicer would kill him if Omari told them that Hikaru had forced her to kiss him. But, that was the least of his worries. Keeping the dagger hidden was. "So...uh...where'd you hide Omari's dagger?" He asked quietly, in case Omari could hear them from downstairs or something.

Cyclone shrugged. "I just slipped it under your matress for now. Nowhere special. We'll have to think of a better place for it later."

"Yeah..." Hikaru sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I think that Tarina should find a better person to be the dagger-keeper if she really wants it safe from Omari, 'cause I just don't think I'm cut out for this job at all. But...just because I'm not cut out for it doesn't mean I can just bail out. It's for the sake of the Hidden Mist Village and the Kingpin Kunais, right? ...Maybe even the rest of the world."

_**...30 Minutes Later...**_

Omari sighed as she continued walking down the snowy path to the marketplace. It wasn't open yet and there was nobody there, but she planned to hang out around that area untill it did so she could go grab something to eat from there.

She just wanted to be alone.

It was her thinking time.

It was her thinking time, and yet she didn't know what to think about Hikaru pulling her down and kissing her for so long. She sort of liked it, being so warmly loved by someone, but it made her uncomfortable and somewhat scared for she and Hikaru's well-being.

Hikaru's kiss wasn't _just_ because he had wanted to buy Cyclone some time. She had figured that out a few moments after she had left. looking back on that moment, Hikaru had seemed sort of eager to have done so, making her very nervous. Hikaru could have come up with something better, after all. There was alot of things he could have done to buy Cyclone some more time.

Hikaru could have just dragged her down and kept her there without kissing her. He could have tickled her to keep her busy. Or, he could have simply followed Cyclone into the room he was going to hide the object in, then lock the door on Omari so she couldn't get in.

But, no. Hikaru just _had_ to take the opportunity and find the excuse to kiss her. It was a guesture meaning to tell Omari that she needed to hurry up with her decision about him, or else. Hikaru probably wasn't aware of what the kiss had told Omari, but it was true. He wanted her to hurry up and start loving him so he could kiss her and ask her to be his girlfriend.

It wasn't that complicated, and yet situations like these were rare. Especially with rogue ninja.

Omari shivered as she walked on. _Rogue ninja. _She hated how the good-doers gave them such a name. Rogue ninja. It made them sound bad and out of place from the start. They were just a type of shinobi who were misunderstood and had no other way to go. It wasn't that bad when you thought about it, but when the good-doers said it, it sounded like they were talking about some alien invaders from outer space.

It was offensive.

It was unwelcoming.

But it was so true at the same time.

After Omari thought it over, it _did_ seem like rogue ninjas were invaders from an unknown orgin. Probably not one rogue ninja in the world had gone through with their lives without thinking _"What am I?" _or _"What is my purpose?" _at least once.

But, then again, Omari's case was different. Omari knew that there was something about her, just her, that was different from every single other human around here. It also felt weird to know that you were somehow different. Omari knew that something weird was going on here. She had felt so out of place ever since she had tried to make that single Light Kunai back at their last showdown with Squad 7.

Master Atoshi had been summoning her on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays just to talk to her. It was so strange. Master Atoshi had taught her some things in their complex conversations (some very strange things) that she almost felt as if she had known it all along, but the knowledge had just been rediscovered.

It was almost like...he was preparing her for something, like how you took a class in school and prepared for a test. Only, this thing that Master Atoshi had been preapring her for seemed much more important. And Omari wasn't learning math or about taijutsu. It was like he was preparing her in how to feel about the upcoming events in her life.

But what were those upcoming events?

Between her little episode back at the Hidden Leaf Village over a year ago, Hikaru hiding something from her, and Master Atoshi giving her happy classes, Omari felt very suspicious of everything. It was like she was missing out on something here. Even Slicer and Zamu were acting a bit funnier now. They were all so kind to her...but she felt as if they were keeping a secret about her _from _her.

It was so weird. And sometimes, it made Omari feel hurt, which was why Master Atoshi warned her not to think about what was physcially going on at the moment too much. If she did, then she would feel sad and depressed, which supossedly was not good for her health.

Right now, Omari felt pretty depressed reguardless of all what was going on right now.

The thing that bothered her the most was...well, Haku's birthday was in a few days. It made her heart ache that he wasn't there anymore. Sure, she could see his heartwarming, sweet smile and his soft, chocolate eyes whenever she fell asleep, but still. She wanted him one-hundred percent human again. Right now, he was a ghost, and it just seemed so sad...

Omari shivered again, but it wasn't because she was thinking about something uncomfortable. It was amazingly cold outside, a temperature that Haku would have loved to walk around in. But, it sure didn't comfort Omari. As she walked, she zipped up her winter jacket all the way, and ajusted her blue pom-pom hat, pulling it over her freezing ears. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out her gloves (which she didn't think she'd need for the day) and slipped them on as well.

She noticed a young ninja couple kissing on a bench nearby, and fought the urge to grimace. She hated when people did that in public. But, who cared? Nobody except her was around them, it was foggy (so nobody could see them even if people were around) and they weren't even making out. They were just holding hands and lightly kissing each other as if they had a good relationship, but it wasn't exactly desperate puppy love. It was perfectly fine.

Omari was slightly jealous. She didn't know why, but she just was. She wanted to feel as comfortable around Hikaru as the girl was with the boy she was sitting with. It just wasn't fair. Omari liked Hikaru, but would have liked him _way_ better if he hadn't come on so strong. Hikaru was making her very uncomfortable. And today's performance certainly didn't do him any better.

The couple on the bench finally stood and started to walk away together, with Omari walking in their path in the exact same direction, not paying attention, staring down at her snowflake-covered gloves for no reason in particular.

While not paying attention to where she was going, Omari slammed right into the boy who had been sitting on the bench, hard. The boy cried out, dropped something from his hands, and stumbled to the ground. The girl gasped and bent down to see if her boyfriend was okay.

Omari stumbled, but didn't fall. When she saw the boy (wearing a blue ski cap and blue winter jacket) on the ground, moaning, she gasped and knelt down to pick up the item the boy had dropped, while the girl kept on asking him if he was okay.

"Oh!! Oh, dear! I'm so sorry!" Omari cried frantically, quickly brushing the snow off of the closed box that the kid had dropped.

The boy sat up in the snow. "Oh, it's no problem. I didn't get hurt." He said, sitting up and flashing her a small, weak smile as the girl he was with helped him up.

Omari looked at the boy and she gasped, shakily holding out the box to the boy who had dropped it. "I-I...you..."

The boy merely smiled at her, one of the most beautiful smiles Omari had seen in over a year.

"B-But...you're..." Omari stammered, eyes widened, still staring at the kid. She felt as if she would faint from shock...or maybe it was just joy. Her knees were about to give out as her heart suddenly felt ten times lighter than before...

Omari couldn't believe it. Was it really...? She was speechless.

"Heh...thanks, Mom." Kamichi chuckled like it was nothing, accepting the previously dropped item from the trembling Omari and starting to walk away with Kouki. "I'll catch ya later, okay?" He called casually, giving her a little wave from ahead.

"O-Okay..." Omari breathed. Then, she just smiled to herself, shaking her head. "You'll see him again soon...you'll see him again." She told herself quietly. She eased herself out of her excited, yet stunned trance, turned, and walked home.

_**...To Be Continued...**_

_**...Turn To The Extras Segment of this Story (if it's there yet) After Reading This!!...**_

_**Yes, I know it wasn't the best ending, but you see, it's not the ending, so I couldn't make up an ultimately good one!! I thought it was kind of sweet that Kamichi and Omari had bumped into each other (literally) and Kamichi had taken it as if he'd see her again. And if the cliffhanger with Omari's dagger being in Hikaru's hands bothered you, then I suggest that you read the continuation of my series.**_

_**Yup. ' First Impressions: Haku's Training Days' is OVER!!**_

_**But don't start crying yet!! 'The Second Impression: A Rogue Ninja's Purpose' will be released in no time at all!!! But remember: THIS IS NOT THE SAME STORY!! IT IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PLOT, BUT INCLUDES THE SAME CHARACTERS!!! SO DON'T THINK I'M GOING AGAINST THE RULES, BECAUSE I REPEAT: IT'S NOT THE SAME AS THIS AT ALL WHATSOEVER!! IT'S BARELY EVEN CONTINUATION, JUST A NEW PLOT!!**_

_**Please turn to the next chapter:) It's the Extras Segment and has nothing to do with the plot!! It takes place in various times during The Beginning!!**_


	30. Extra Stories: 1: Tarina and Kamichi

_** Hey!! Sorry this took so long to come out!! My WHOLE computer crashed and I can't do anything on it now, so I was limited on my computer time. THIS HOPEFULLY WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN! I know it took 10000000 years for this thing to come out, so please excuse me for the dilemma. And Remember: This story is absolutley pointless compared to the real plot of the story!! It's just a sort of cute little story about Tarina and Kamichi. Nothing big, just a bit more about the relationships between characters.**_

**_ HAPPY READING!!!!!_**

_**...Extraneous Additions: 1: Tarina and Kamichi...**_

"But why?!?" Little Kamichi screamed out to Haku, stamping his foot on the ground. "WHY can't I come with you or anybody else today? It's just not fair!"

Haku shot him a worried, yet stern look. "You can't go anywhere today because you're sick. You've been throwing up all night long, according to what you're sensei told me. He's right to leave you here by yourself for a while. You need your rest."

"But- But..." Kamichi started to sputter. "Nobody's here to take care of me!! There's no one to play with. I'll be totally bored. I mean, what's a nine-year-old guy got to do in a boring old hideout with nobody in it?!"

"Well...you have your toys. You can play with those, can't you?" Haku suggested weakly, shrugging his shoulders and gesturing to Kamichi's nearby toy chest.

"There's nobody to play WITH!"

"Kamichi, you don't let people touch your toys anyway!" Haku argued back, getting even more aggravated by the moment. "Listen. You're lucky I even came to visit you today to say hello! I'm not even supposed to be in your hideout without your sensei's permission!"

Kamichi suddenly flashed his puppy eyes, real tears brimming at them. "But...I-I..." He started to sniffle. "It's not fair..." He whimpered for the umpteenth time.

Haku sighed as he reached for his jacket. "Look, I'm sorry, Kamichi. But there's just nobody to stay with you. Zabuza and I are on an important mission together, and it can't be completed if I'm not there! The Kingpin Kunais are on their way out for a mission as well, and the rest of your squad is out, too. There's nothing that can be done."

Just as soon as Kamichi was about to sob out another complaint, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Uh...who is it?" Haku turned, eyeing the ajar door curiously.

"It's me," Tarina gently pushed open the door, peeking in on the two. "Well, our team was on our way out of the forest, and we bumped into Zabuza. He told me to stop here really quickly and tell you to hurry up. He's gettin' really impatient, so..."

"Oh! I had better get going, then..." Haku jumped. He didn't like it when Zabuza got impatient with him. He turned to Kamichi, who was still sobbing on the bed. "Uuh..."

Tarina turned to Kamichi, alarmed, suddenly realizing that Kamichi was bawling. She rushed over to him and hugged him. "Aww! What's wrong?" She asked frantically. She obviously had no idea of Kamichi's situation, and she also felt horrid when she saw little kids cry.

"He's sick to his stomach and has to stay home by himself today..." Haku explained sadly. "He's really upset about it. I would stay with him, but I can't. I'm required to go on that mission, so...there's really nothing I can do."

As Tarina let go of the bear hug she had pulled the very uncomfortable Kamichi into, she looked over at Haku with something warm and promising in her silvery eyes. "I'll stay with him."

"You will?" Haku asked in suprise.

"You will?" Kamichi asked in an uncertain, worried tone. He was not sure he wanted to stay all by himself with _her_ around. Tarina was a very nice young adult, but she teased people like him often and seemed so rough with younger people. Kamichi was also not sure he could possibly stand a person who was more of a sarcastic prankster than he was. It just seemed too weird.

Besides, Kamichi wouldn't be able to do whatever he liked. If Haku had been the one to stay with him, then Kamichi would find a way to manipulate and eventually overpower Haku with his wild recklessness, enabling him to do whatever he wanted. Tarina wasn't exactly a pushover.

"Y-You sure about this?" Haku said, raising an eyebrow. "What about your mission?"

"Of course I'm sure. And about the mission, I'll just leave it up to Omari to lead this time. I mean, it's only a C-ranked mission, and she's been always dying to play leader. And I'll just head back to the hideout when I sense that Kamichi's teammates are returning." Tarina smiled.

"So...you want me to go over really quick and tell Omari that the mission's up to her?" Haku asked.

"If you don't mind,"

"Oh, not at all." Haku said, nodding. He was willing to do anything to make little Kamichi content for the day, but he really needed to hurry. Also, Tarina's offering was very sudden. She was a very busy person when it came to managing her squad, and now Haku was starting to feel uncertain about this whole thing. "But..."

"No, it's fine!" Tarina grinned, smiling and hugging the very reluctant-looking Kamichi again. "I'll take really good care of him. And I know I can trust Omari with the rest of the team. You just go tell Omari, and she'll take care of the mission."

Tarina seemed pretty sure of herself. Kamichi could be quite a handful when baby-sat, but Haku knew that Tarina wouldn't let him get away with too much, unless they both plotted a nasty mega-prank as partners (which Haku doubted).

"A-Alright. I'll tell Omari on my way back." Haku said with finality, nodding and quickly stepping torwards the door and sneaking a peek at Kamichi's clock on the right wall. "Well, I'd better get going. I'll be back later, okay?"

"Okay." Haku flashed the two a small smile as he started to exit the room. "Bye, Tarina! Goodbye, Kamichi! Have fun, okay? And remember to thank Tarina later for this. She's doing a really nice thing for you."

"Yeah, yeah..." Kamichi grumbled under his breath, blowing his bangs from his face in a sort of huffy manner.

"Bye, Haku!" Tarina waved.

Haku gave them one quick, final wave and then quickly ran out of the room and outside of the hideout to notify Omari about the mission and resume his own mission with Zabuza.

A few seconds after he was gone, Kamichi pulled away from Tarina's long, uncomfortable hug and glared at her in a sort of suspicious manner. "I don't trust you to babysit me."

Tarina looked confused and hurt at the same time. "Huh?"

"I just don't." Kamichi harrumphed in a grumpy tone. He really no reason to be mad or suspicious of Tarina. He was just aggravated that he didn't get a more submissive elder to take care of him for the day.

Tarina slyly smiled in sudden realization. "Oh, I get it. You think I'm not going to let you have any fun around here, don't you? That I'm not exactly a pushover who would easily be manipulated into allowing you do whatever you want?"

Kamichi wasn't the least bit startled by Tarina's amateur-but-real mind-reading abilities. He just did his best to give her a stony, stubborn glare. "Yeah. That's exactly what I think."

"Well, you're exactly right." Tarina said with a small smile. She knew what she had to do to make Kamichi kiss her feet like a submissive dog and bend him so he could be under her rule instead of the other way around. She had a plan for almost anything. Even events that didn't happen yet that had little chance of ever occurring.

"Huh?!" Kamichi had expected something totally different than her. Tarina might not let him have any fun, after all. "C'mon, I was just kidding!" He pleaded as Tarina stood and started to walk out of the room. "Wh-Where are you going?!"

"In the living room," Tarina slightly turned to glance at him nonchalantly, as if she didn't have a care in the world. "I'm going to watch some television. You're sick, so you should be getting your rest after all. If you need anything, just call me."

"W-Wait! That's it?!" Kamichi cried. "You're not gonna play any games with me?! You...you're not going to torture me or play pranks or glomp me for 72 hours or ANYTHING?"

"Nope."

Kamichi suddenly felt himself becoming desperate for Tarina's company. He could see the sudden secret smirk on Tarina's face. Kamichi was being taught a lesson in loneliness and how to be grateful for the company that you had, and he didn't like it one bit. He crossed his arms angrily. He would not let her get satisfaction over him. "Okay. Fine with me, 'cause I'm tired anyway!" He growled in a sort of challenging tone.

"Alright then, Kamichi. We'll see how long you can last. _Alone._" Tarina cackled lightly as she flicked off Kamichi's bedroom lights and shut the door.

Kamichi climbed into his large bed and pulled the warm, blue covers up to his neck, glaring at the door that Tarina had just walked out of. "Fine," He grumbled to himself, plopping his head down on his pillow. "Just leave me here in my room all by myself. See if I care..."

Kamichi lay on the bed for about thirty more minutes, not feeling the least bit tired. Soon, he began to frequently change laying positions (about every five seconds). His mind was going absolutely wild as he lay on the bed for what seemed like forever. It was torture. It was insanity.

Finally, after a few more minutes, Kamichi quickly sat up with a determined look on his face. That was it. He was getting out of the hideout.

_I just HAVE to go on that mission with my teammates! I can just sneak past the living room and Tarina if I can be quiet enough, and go out of the already opened door! It'll be perfect! I'll just grab my stuff and head on over to the forest where my teammates are supossed to be and jump in at the last moment. Tarina wont notice a thing. It'll be awesome! _Kamichi deviously thought to himself, an excited yet evil grin on his face as he soundlessly hopped out of bed, grabbed his already prepared backpack, and tiptoed to his shut door.

Kamichi nervously and quietly twisted the doorknob to the right, pulling it open as cautiously and as slowly as possible. For a moment, he squeezed his eyes shut, expecting a huge reaction from Tarina from the living room, but there was nothing.

Smirking to himself, Kamichi tiptoed out of his bedroom door, inching across the walls as he peeked out at the living room. To Kamichi's surprise, Tarina wasn't there. She wasn't on the couch watching television like he had expected her to be. She was just...gone.

"Perfect timing!" Kamichi quietly cheered to himself. "She's not even in there. Maybe she left while I was 'sleeping'. Heh...some babysitter she is. Now, to go on that mission!"

Without hesitation, Kamichi trotted towards the door after looking left and right when coming into the hallway leading to the living room. Smiling to himself and silently priding himself on his sneakiness, Kamichi reached out for the front doorknob...

"Yaah!" Kamichi cried out and jumped back as he felt a sharp, painful slap on his right hand. He gasped, as a very stern-looking Tarina appeared right in front of the door, her arms now crossed. Kamichi gulped and smiled a nervous smile. "Uhh...I...I..."

Tarina just kept on glaring down at him, seemingly angry.

Kamichi began to sweat. "W-Well...this is awkward...heh..." He giggled frightfully, scratching his head. He gasped and his eyes widened as he saw Tarina suddenly raise her own fist over him...

"Uuuaaaahhh!" Kamichi screamed out in surprise and pain as Tarina's super strong fist slammed right into his stomach, sending him crashing into the far wall, actually knocking a number of paintings down and making a Kamichi-sized crater into the wall (which was not exactly what you would call soft). Kamichi flopped to the ground, having all five of the bizarre paintings topple onto him. He moaned, trying not to gag as a result from the punch right in his gut (he still had the stomach flu).

Tarina, arms crossed once again, stepped over to him, her expression unstartled. "And just where do you think you're going?" She asked.

Kamichi quickly stood up and angrily brushed himself off, shaking with fury. "Never mind that! What the heck is wrong with you?! You could have killed me just now!" He screamed, pointing menacingly at Tarina.

Tarina put her arms down and shrugged. "You tried to leave, and so I stopped you."

"Not like that!" Kamichi screamed, brushing his now messed-up bangs from his face. "You could have seriously hurt me or something! You're SO lucky that I was ready for you."

Tarina sneered. "Hah! You weren't ready for me at all! I saw that frightened little look on your face."

"I was NOT frightened!" Kamichi screamed, propping his angry fists on his hips. "I'm not weak like that! You don't scare me, lady!!" He growled.

Tarina snorted and rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"And you know what else?" Kamichi said angrily. "You're NOT in charge of me just because you're the leader of the Kingpin Kunais squad! I can do whatever I want! And I WANT to go on that mission!" He said, grabbing his backpack and lugging it torwards the door.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Tarina crossed her arms again and shot him a threatening look from behind.

Kamichi sensed the threat and sneered, turning slightly to look at her. "Pff. Whatever. I can take you on any day, Tarina. But not right now, though. _I_ have a mission to go on." He continued to carry his backpack torwards the door.

"Eeeeee!" Kamichi screamed out as he felt a strong yet soft hand painfully gripping his right hand and throwing him aside.

Tarina laughed. "You're not going anywhere."

Kamichi sat up and moaned again, reaching over with his left hand and rubbing his arm. "Oowwch..." He then stood and glared at Tarina again. "Hey, lay off, would ya? I'm trying to go on a mission here!" He scowled.

"No, you're not." Tarina replied smoothly as she grabbed his arm and yanked him off of the ground. She wasn't abusing Kamichi. She just knew how to be a good teacher who could actually enjoy being mean-ish. Tarina knew what she was doing. You could never be gentle with your students. Almost all squad leaders knew that you had to beat the respect into your pupils.

Kamichi yanked away from her and hit her arm, hard. He wanted to get her back no matter what it took. He hated it when he was teased and/or being pushed around. "Here! How does that feel?"

Tarina chuckled and turned to the now suprised, tense little boy. "Hey...you know, that felt quite good, actually. But you know what would feel even better?" She struck him in the head as hard as possible, sending him screaming and flying into the kitchen, which was over ten feet away.

She smirked to herself as she heard a huge crash and clatter of dishware as Kamichi landed in the kitchen, knocking over a large amount of kitchen supplies. When Tarina heard Kamichi's desperate moan, she decided to go in and check on the poor pathetic kid, although she didn't regret her choice to hit him. She would never seriously hurt the guy, for one, and for two...well, _somebody_ had to put him in his place, right?

Tarina lightly kicked at his still form. "Hey, kid. You okay?"

Kamichi twitched, his brain slightly jarred from the impact. "Yaa...hhaaa..." He gurgled in a quite nasally, non-understandable little voice.

"Huh?" Tarina looked confused.

"You...you mean old hag...what...the...heck is wrong with you...? Ugh..." Kamichi murmured, too hurt to make his voice sound angry. His head was pounding and he felt desperately sick all of a sudden.

Tarina put her hands on her hips and glowered down at Kamichi. "Mean old hag?! Hey, I'm not old!! I'm in my early twenties! What are you talking about, 'mean old-"

"Hhhhaaahh..." Kamichi moaned painfully, wincing and clutching his stomach. "Ugh...I think I'm gonna throw up again..."

Tarina sighed and slapped her hands to her head. "Ooh, no..."

Kamichi gagged, but no vomit came from his mouth (yet).

Tarina's eyes widened in worry. "Aw, crud! Just...just...go to the bathroom or something, Kamichi! Just don't do it here in the kitchen, 'cause I'm definitely not gonna clean up your mess!"

Kamichi almost smiled to himself, despite the gurgling, very gross feeling in his back throat. He knew exactly how to get back at Tarina for treating him like a foolhardy little kid. He wasn't going anywhere until he did what he needed to do.

"Wh-why aren't you moving?! Get up and get to the bathroom so you can-...aaaw, GROSS! Eeew!" Tarina grimaced and quickly stepped away from the area where Kamichi had vomited all over the place and himself (although the vomiting on himself part was unintentional).

"Oops!" Kamichi forced himself not to smile evilly as Tarina disgustedly handed him a towel. Kamichi fake sniffled and wiped himself off. "Aw, geez. Looks like I threw up all over the floor. Now what?" He said in a very soft, innocent-sounding, trembling little voice.

Tarina just stared at him in horror for a few seconds, then shook herself out of it and glared directly at him. "I see what you're getting at." She crossed her arms. "Well, I'm sure not gonna clean this up. It came from your stomach. You're responsible."

"But I'm sick, remember?" Kamichi said weakly, but with a sly smirk. "Not to mention, you're the babysitter AND the adult around here. It would be just cruel if you let the sick baby have to slave over the kitchen floor, so…tough luck, lady. Looks like you're gonna have to clean the puke."

"…Fine. Whatever." Tarina harrumphed, finally giving in. She had to clean it up, otherwise nobody would. And she was the type of girl who couldn't stand to have gross things lying on the floor like that.

"Heh…and meanwhile, I'll be sleeping." Kamichi smiled triumphantly at the steamed and disgusted Tarina starting to get on her hands and knees and clean the floor. Kamichi suddenly felt better when it came to his stomach, but very, very tired. He crossed his arms and started to stride away in a sort of proud manner.

"Hmph…" Tarina grumbled to herself. "Don't worry, Tarina…you'll get him back. You'll get him back so good that he'll later beg for mercy." She said, slowly smirking at the idea of making the brat fall to the floor and scream in pain from Tarina's soon-to-come torture.

…

Kamichi had been sleeping for over an hour and a half, but not quite the full two hours. For the past fifteen minutes, he had been laying awake in his cozy bed, just thinking about what Tarina would do to him.

Maybe she would beat him up for this.

_Nah…_Kamichi thought to himself dismissively, snorting to himself. She was too cool to go into a total beatdown. Maybe Kamichi would catch a few blows or two here and there, but nothing serious. It was probably some classic prank or some devious, mind-blowing master plan that she cooked up while she was cleaning up his vomit.

Now, Kamichi sensed Tarina in the living room, just hanging out in there after cleaning up the mess and scrubbing her hands in the bathroom for about ten minutes straight. Or maybe the water was turned on just so nobody could hear _her_ throwing up.

"Ooh…what have I done?" Kamichi whispered to himself worriedly. "Tarina's gonna _kill_ me for making her clean that up!!"

"Not quite, Kamichi…" An evilly smirking Tarina suddenly loomed over him out of nowhere.

Kamichi jumped out of bed and screamed. "Yah! D-Don't strangle me! I-I'm sorry for throwing up and making you clean it up, okay?!"

Tarina smiled to herself, knowing that her plan was already working. She had spooked him. "Sorry just doesn't cut it, Kamichi…" She pretended to sigh sadly while smiling, shaking her head. She did a fake lunge for him.

"Waaah! Noooo!" Kamichi screamed out desperately, jumping out of the way into a spin-dodge, racing out of the room, clutching his now achy stomach.

Tarina smirked and let him run. For now. "Scardey-cat…I'll show him who's the better prankster…" She said to herself, pleased. She then leaned over and grabbed something off of Kamichi's dresser. She opened it up, and after a few seconds, she laughed.

…

"Why Tarina?! Why does Tarina, of all people, have to be the one who's out to get me?? Now I'm going to pay for what I've done. Uugh…this is exactly what happened before with Haku. I pay for messing with the wrong people. Why does this always happen to me? I KNOW that Tarina will outdo me…" Kamichi mumbled to himself, hiding in the bathroom corner with the door locked tight.

Kamichi's ears twitched as he heard faint laughter from the other room. And it wasn't that same old teasing, 'Muahahahaa' evil laughter. She was laughing as if something _really was_ funny.

Uncontrollably curious, Kamichi slowly and soundlessly departed from the bathroom, stepping carefully in the hallway with his mouth sealed shut. He had to go see what Tarina was sabotaging in his room. He just had to, or else he'd later be caught off guard and look stupid in the end.

As he slowly tiptoed down the hallway and peeked into the room of his open door, making sure not to attract attention from Tarina. He loudly gasped in horror, which still didn't get attention from the heavily distracted Tarina.

"Heeeeeey!" Kamichi screeched, running to where Tarina was. He couldn't help it. This was just too important. "Put my journal down! The content in there is none of your beeswax!"

"Well, now it is." Tarina giggled as Kamichi quickly snatched his personal journal away from her and shoved it under his bed, as angered as ever.

"Nooo! …Wait! Wh-what did you see?!" Kamichi just couldn't help asking frantically.

"Heh…" Tarina was still giggling and wiping her eyes from what she had read. "Oh, nothing, Kamichi. I-I didn't see anything personal of yours."

"Y-Yes, you did!" Kamichi screamed accusingly, pointing at her. He was blushing so badly, that his whole body felt warm. He hoped Tarina didn't see the one entry about her. "You DID see something, 'cause you were laughing! Now tell me!"

Tarina tried to stop laughing, but burst out into crazed, hyena-like giggles. Tarina never usually sounded like this, but then again, Kamichi had never seen Tarina encounter something that was absolutely hysterical.

"It-…it's nothing." Tarina smiled, wiping the last of her tears of laughter away from her eyes. "I just think it's cute that such an outgoing, reckless kid like you keeps a diary, Kamichi. There's really nothing wrong with it. It's just cute. I've never seen anything like it before." She said, making up an excuse for why she was really laughing. What she had said was one hundred percent true, but that wasn't why she was laughing.

"Nuh-uh! You liar! I know you weren't laughing because of that! Just tell me why right now, or, or…" Kamichi started to threat desperately as Tarina tried not to start cracking up again.

"Or else what?" Tarina challenged, still giggly.

"You know what?" Kamichi said back with a cruel smirk. He just couldn't let Tarina win this mini-war that was starting to form. Tarina wouldn't get any satisfaction at all. "Absolutely nothing. I don't care what you read in my journal, because the stuff I say in it is true. Seriously. I don't care!"

Tarina giggled. "You tryin' ta' convince me, or yourself?"

Kamichi crossed his arms. He was super embarrassed that most –if not all- of his secrets were revealed to Tarina, but he had to remain proud of his opinions and just go with whatever Tarina was planning. "Just because I think you're sort of pretty doesn't mean…"

Tarina cackled. "That's not exactly what it said in the diary…" She laughed. It was just so cute, though. The little guy actually had a bit of a crush on her. Tarina knew that Kamichi would soon grow out of it. But the really good thing was that she was an excellent reader. She had read the entire journal. It had described all of his worst fears. That was the gold. That was what she had needed.

Kamichi just glowered at her. "What are you trying to pull?"

"Oh, nothing…" Tarina just smirked and walked away.

"Yeah…but just remember…I'll be ready for you!" Kamichi yelled out to her. He grabbed his journal from out of the bed to obtain personal security over it, and slammed his bedroom door shut. His eyebrows then wrinkled in a sort of upset manner, and he let out a small whimper. He wasn't ready for any kind of negative action towards him from Tarina. Not at all.

…

As he lay in his bed, Kamichi heard a rustle from the corner of his room, coming from the toy pile. Kamichi had completely forgotten about Tarina's dreaded (and assumed) revenge. His stomach had started to hurt again, and he was in enough pain already.

Hearing the disturbing, spine chilling rustle, Kamichi gulped. He hoped with all of his might that it wasn't one of those Toy Monsters that he had always been afraid of. Yes, it was sillier than the belief of the super-famous 'Under-The-Bed Monster', but hey, you never know.

Kamichi knew he was a little old for this, but he still believed that the Toy Monster was real. If you had a messy, huge toy pile, then a Toy Monster spore would float right into the pile and grow. It would soon munch its way through the pile as soon as it matured and gobble up the kid in the bedroom, as Kamichi believed.

He shivered at the thought.

Another rustle. This time, it was louder. His toy pile (the pile of reject toys that would never fit in the wooden chest) was violently shaking, as if something was about to burst out of it.

"Very funny, Tarina…" Kamichi said out loud, glaring at the pile. "I know you're there. You're not fooling m-" His confident yet shaky voice cut off as he saw what kind of creature emerged loudly from the pile, sending many playthings toppling to the ground.

It was horrible.

A huge blood-covered, hideous, spiky-haired demon popped out of the pile, just as Kamichi had imagined the Toy Monster to appear (which he had previously drawn in his journal). It grinned, bearing its huge fangs. The evil-looking, slimy, furry creature drew it's fangs and took a threatening step towards the paralyzed Kamichi, who was still staring in bed.

Not even considering the possibility of the monster still being just a joke pulled by Tarina, Kamichi finally found the strength to jump up from his bed and run past the human-sized, hungry-looking 'Toy Monster'.

Kamichi rushed out of the room, screaming his head off. "No! No! I'm gonna die! Help me! Tarinaaaaa!" He screeched, racing into the living room and jumping into the surprised Tarina's arms.

"Kamichi!" Tarina exclaimed, wide-eyed and concerned. "What's wrong?! What happened?!"

"Th-the monster!! The Toy Monster! He's gonna eat me!! Heeelp! Make it go away!" Kamichi screamed in a frightened little voice.

"The Toy Monster?" Tarina said in a skeptical tone, raising her eyebrow. She suddenly smiled in realization. "Oh, you mean _this_ Toy Monster?"

Kamichi gasped and screamed as the beautiful, warm image of Tarina transformed into the hideous form of the dreaded Toy Monster. "Waaaaaaah-haaah!"

"Muahahahaa!" The Toy Monster cackled, licking it's lips. "You're MINE now, you little rat!"

"Aaaaaah! Noooo! Leave me alone! Don't eat me!" Kamichi screamed, dashing out of the room and racing away.

"Come back, Kamichi! I just want to devour you!!" The Toy Monster cackled, running after Kamichi at an amazing speed.

"Noooo!" Kamichi screeched, outrunning the demon and raced straight into Ryo's room, locking himself in the spacey, neat closet.

"Oh, Kamichiii?! Where are you?" The Toy Monster called sarcastically in that horrible, scratchy voice of his.

"I'm not here..." Kamichi whimpered pitifully to himself in a squeaky, high pitched voice. He was breathless, but was trying his absolute hardest to stay quiet. His heart was beating triple-time as his worst childhood fear was slinking even closer to the closet, which was slammed shut.

"Booooo!" The Toy Monster suddenly cackled as it roughly yanked open the closet door and lunged for Kamichi. " Muahahahahaa! I've got you now!!"

"Nooooooo!" Kamichi screeched, squeezing his eyes shut as the Toy Monster pounced on him. The monster tackled Kamichi and shoved him onto his back. Kamichi screamed at the top of voice. The laughter of his worst fear in the world suddenly started to evolve into something more derisive yet in a sweeter-sounding voice.

The horrified, sweating, and crying Kamichi slowly opened his eyes, mouth opened in complete shock. "Wh-Wha...? Y-You're..."

"That's right!" Tarina laughed, sitting up off of him and pointing teasingly at the still shocked little boy. "Now if that's unprepared for attack, then I don't know what is! You're so gullible!"

"I...I..." Kamichi stammered. He wasn't trembling anymore in fright. He was trembling with angered embarassment. The look on his face went from absolutley horrified to appalled. "TARINA!! YOU STUPID HAG, HOW DARE YOU SCARE ME LIKE THAT!"

Tarina just continued to laugh.

"You could have given me a heart attack!" Kamichi screamed, then forced himself to calm down a bit as he backed out of the closet along with Tarina. He glowered at her. "Yeah, just keep laughing. Next time, it'll be my heart failure on YOUR paycheck! I can sue you for harassing me like that!"

"Hahahahaa!" Tarina just couldn't stop laughing. "C'mon, Kamichi. I didn't even expect you to be THAT scared. I mean, Toy Monster?! Gimme a break! Even a kid like Tomozaku wouldn't believe something like that!"

Kamichi's face turned bright red in embarassment and his angry, firm expression started to falter a bit. "I..."

Tarina hugged him, still smiling. "Aww, don't feel too bad. It was just a joke and..." She then shrugged and admitted, "It was partially revenge, too, I guess. I mean, I was just trying to get a point across."

"To appreciate adults and company? To feel grateful to the people who care about you and want to help instead of being ignorant and vengeful torwards them?" Kamichi asked quietly with his eyebrows raised, now understanding what kind of lesson he thought Tarina was teaching him about righteousness, friendship and comfort.

"...What?! No way! Why would I want to prove a dorky point like that?! I just wanted to prove that I'll always be one step ahead of you!" Tarina laughed, slightly annoyed that Kamichi would think such a stupid thing.

Kamichi just stared at her for a moment, shocked and confused. Then he shook himself out of it in sudden offended realization. "Hey!" He yelled, his expression turning angrier by the second.

"Ha ha! You're so hopeless!" Tarina cackled and ran out of the room as the still surprised Kamichi stood up and chased after her, smiling all the while.

**_...The End!! Turn To The Next Extraneous Addition After Reading This Messaage!!..._**

**_ So, how'd you like that little short, pointless story? I think Tarina and Kamichi make a really cute pair of friends (JUST friends, of course). They're so alike in a bunch of different ways. I think they're both pretty awesome, too. Young Kamichi still tickles me despite the fact I'm the one who created him:)_**

**_ PLEASE REMEMBER TO LEAVE A REVIEW!! You can flame me for taking so long to make this, but other than that, tell me what you thought of this chapter!_**

**_ ALSO PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE SECOND IMPRESSION WILL COME OUT AFTER THE FINAL EXTRANEOUS ADDITION IS RELEASED (don't worry, it wont take as long as this one)!!! MY PLANS FOR THE SECOND SERIES ARE ALMOST FINISHED, TOO:) THERE WILL BE ABOUT 5 MORE EXCITING CHARACTERS AND SHOCKING REVEALINGS. JUST WAIT AND SEE, AND I'LL NOTIFY YOU SOON!_**

**_ Thanks, and remember to keep on reading:)_**


	31. Extra Stories: 2: Omari and Tarina

…_**Extraneous Additions: 2: Omari and Tarina…**_

_**Note: Hey, you don't have to read this. You can either not waste your time and wait for my next chapter, or you can just read it and leave me a review telling me what a bad job I did. I know this chappie is in sort of a poor quality, but I'm just too busy with the Second Impression (yay), my Remnants stuff, and my other Naruto-based stories.**_

_**(sighs) Yes, I know that this took a pretty long time to come out, but hey, don't blame me. I just got a new computer that I still need to get used to. This new keyboard's KILLIN' ME!! **_

_**Ahem. Anyway, my only access is during school hours, a few hours at my relative's house, and at my home here, where I still don't have much time. Additionally, at the time I am writing this, Halloween draws near, so I will be busy, probably going to find my Jar of Mustard costume (yeah, I still dress up; I'm not old!) Halloween will probably be over by the time this comes out, though. My writing speed has not gone down (it's actually getting better), but my computer access hours ARE going down. So bear with me! Please!**_

_**Also, the Second Impressions thing is still going to be coming out, so don't you worry. In case you've forgotten, it'll be released AFTER the Extras segment (which is the one that you are reading right at this moment)! I'm not entirely sure how many chapters this segment will be (yes, it may change despite my previous chapter's report). This chapter takes place during the Beginning, just so you know…**_

_**And…well…make sure you enjoy this chapter if you can!! Oh, and just so you know, there is some Haku included in this story, but this story's more about Tarina and Omari's sisterly relationship. Yup...another Tarina-involved story. This will probably be the last one. Then, after this, I'll be concentrating more on Haku, Zabuza, Slicer, and Zamu. I had to do these two for this chappie because I think that Tarina and Omari are a sweet pair of friends, and…Tarina's one of my personal favorites as well!**_

…_**Happy Reading!!**_

Omari was devastatingly bored.

There was just nothing to do.

It just wasn't fair how there wasn't anybody else on her squad who was her age- or at least close to it. Hikaru had been very, very close (only about one year and a few months apart), but he was dead. She had always thought he was a brat and a pure evildoer anyways.

But, even now, she would appreciate having Hikaru around. At least he made things interesting. If nothing was happening and it was just another boring day in the hideout, Hikaru would always to be sure to make something bad would happen just for the heck of it.

Haku lived close enough to play with, but no. She was too shy around him. Haku was a sort of bashful kid too, but wasn't embarrassed and blushy when it came to encounters with Omari. He had confidence and courage. Omari didn't.

It would be just too much to go over and ask Haku to play outside with her.

Slicer and Zamu were not much fun. They were kind to her (especially Zamu), but they served more as people who looked out for her, not her friends. Friend_ly_, but not _friends._

Tarina was usually the one who would play with Omari when she was bored, but Omari was still getting to know her. It had only been about two years since they had met. Everything seemed so weird to her. Tarina had been the first thing that she had ever seen. Everything else was just a blur.

Tarina was the one who was weird. She was so friendly, so welcoming, so easygoing…yet so harsh all the while. Tarina treated Omari as if she was a little sister, which made Omari feel complemented and insulted at the same time. Tarina seemed to know who Omari was more than herself. Tarina knew things, which both scared and comforted Omari.

It was all so frustrating! She knew absolutely nothing, not even her last name. She didn't even know if her real _first_ name was Omari, either! She was almost certain it wasn't. She didn't remember it. In her past, she could sort of dig up someone calling her something that sounded like Omari…but she was pretty sure it wasn't exactly Omari.

Omari was just the name that she had slowly stammered out (syllable by syllable) to Tarina when Tarina had asked what her name was. Tarina smiled a weird, skeptical smile at the reply, but was too thrilled that Omari had awakened. After that, the lost and confused little girl that Tarina had found had become Omari. A Kingpin Kunais member. It was an honor and a duty, but…

She didn't know who she _really_ was. Maybe she wasn't cut out to be a rogue ninja who was living on the outskirts of the Hidden Mist (near the Land of Waves)

Maybe Tarina knew (somehow).

Omari didn't bother asking that, though, because she knew she would never get a direct answer.

Omari knew that Tarina was basically the only person she could turn to with a problem, but Tarina just seemed a bit too obnoxious. She was so rough with her, always throwing her around mercilessly when they were sparring. She handled her none too gently when it came to the ninja stuff, but handled her with great care when it came to life inside of the hideout.

Everything was so weird, but this was her home. This was where she lived, and the people she lived with. Whatever her past life was like was in the past. Nothing could change it.

Omari sat up from her bed, still as bored as ever. Tarina was a pretty rough and obnoxious girl, but she was Omari's only hope of surviving through this day. She had to ask her to play with her or train or at least watch TV with her.

Omari slowly walked to Tarina's room and peeked inside of the open door to find Tarina on her bed, lost into a thick, boring-looking book. "H-Hey…Tarina?"

It took a few moments for Tarina to respond, but she eventually blinked, snapped out of her trance, and looked over at Omari. "Hmm?"

"Uh…" Omari slowly walked in, twiddling her thumbs. She really didn't know how to say this.

"What is it?"

"Well…uh…I…you see…" Omari mumbled, blushing. She felt so stupid and weird. Of course a teenager like Tarina wouldn't want to play with an annoying, timid little kid all day. Tarina had never said anything like this, but Omari could feel it.

Tarina blinked at her. "What is it? You bored or something?"

Grateful of Tarina's accurate guessing, Omari looked up from the ground, her expression lightened a bit. "Um…well, yes. I was sort of wondering if we could, y'know…do something together?" It seemed so weird. Omari and Tarina were friends in sort of a close, humorous way, but this particular situation seemed different. Omari had never felt so shy of her before.

Tarina raised her eyebrows. "Omari, you don't have to be all scared just to ask me if I would play with you." She said, using a sort of guilty tone in her voice. She didn't want Omari to feel uncomfortable around her like that. It made Tarina herself feel funny.

"Oh, I know, but…" Omari gulped, going back to twiddling her thumbs as she stood near Tarina's bed.

Tarina sat up from her bed and placed her bookmark into the page she was on before setting her book down on her shelf. "Well, I'm not very good at keeping little kids occupied, but I guess we could do something together...what do you suggest?"

Omari shrugged. "Well...we could play a board game together...couldn't we?"

The look on Tarina's face said enough. Omari knew that Tarina hated playing board games more than anything. She was a teenager, after all. Many teeanagers didn't want to play little kids' board games on a rainy, missionless day. It was just torture. Omari stopped Tarina just as she was about to reluctantly agree. "B-But we don't HAVE to play a board game. We can do something more...entertaining."

Tarina scratched her head. "Like what? I mean, what would you prefer?"

Omari shrugged again, but this time, it was uneasy. If Tarina was the one who was going to pick the game, she knew that there would be trouble. But, it was the only way to get out of that trecherous, spiraling, dormant state called boredom. "Well...I really don't know. I guess _you _could pick the game...if you want..."

Tarina's eyes sparkled, which usually meant she had an idea, or she was very, very pleased. "Seriously?! I can pick the game?"

Omari hesitated for a few seconds, but decided to let Tarina have her way. "If you want to, I guess..."

"Okay!" Tarina smiled, standing excitedly from her bed and starting to pace thoughtfully around the room. "Alright...let's see. We _could _make cookies or something...but...that'd be too boring, and we'd have to find something to do anyway in the time that we have to wait for them while they're in the oven. Oh! I've got it! We could-...oh...wait, that would be way too inappropriate for you. Or, we could..."

As Tarina was loudly bainstorming, Omari sat down on Tarina's bed, sighing. She knew that this would come with serious consequences. She wished that she could have just dragged Tarina through 3 hours worth of board game-playing instead of letting Tarina drag _her _through doing something that she dreaded.

_Uugh...what have I done?_

"Hey, I've got it!" Tarina smiled at Omari.

"Ooh..." Omari groaned unintentionally, putting her hands to her head.

Tarina, either not hearing Omari or purposely ignoring her regetful attitude, proudly declared, "Let's go bother Haku and Zabuza!"

"What?!" Omari asked, looking up at her friend in shock. The idea was so simple, yet so complex and bold. "How?! Why would we do that?!" She got nervous when it came to bothering people. It could get them in trouble and get people mad at them.

Tarina laughed. "Don't be so tense. I'm sure Haku and Zabuza are bored, too." She then shrugged and suddenly looked like she didn't have a care in the world. "BUT, if you _really_ don't wanna come, then I'll just go pester them myself."

Omari sighed. "Listen, Tarina. I'm not really for this, 'let's go bother our friends' thing. It just doesn't seem right. I mean, if somebody was bothering us, then we'd be mad, right? And by the way, we don't even know them that well! I mean, I know you've been friends with Zabuza for years, but, I'm not familiar with either of them! I would seem so weird just going to their hideout and messing with them. Especially because Haku is there. And...just exactly _how _do you plan on bothering them?"

Tarina smiled to herself, just thinking about all of the wonderful things they could do together to mess with Haku and Zabuza's heads. She could barely even make out what Omari was saying over the obnoxiously loud ideas rambling through her head. If Tarina went through with the devious plans they had in mind, then Haku and Zabuza would be driven insane. And she thought it was especially hilarious when Zabuza went crazy. It sounded like so much fun...

"Tarina! Did you just hear a word I said?!" Omari exclaimed, devestated with the fact that she had just went through all of her well thought out arguments geared torwards her point of view of what was right and wrong, and nobody had been interested in the first place.

Tarina whipped around in suprise, shaken out of her daydreaming. She blinked. "Huh? You say somethin'?"

Omari groaned loudly, ferociously brawling with the urge to rip her hair from it's roots.

Tarina, oblivious to both Omari's words and aggravation, just smiled excitedly. "You know what? I just came up with the best idea ever!!"

"Oh, yeah? What is it?" Omari asked warily.

"I'm not telling you."

Omari was both dumbfounded and appalled. "What!? You want me to assist you in your devious plots against our friends, and you're not even gonna tell me wehat you're planning on doing?!"

"I'm not telling you unless you swear to help me, no matter what the case." Tarina said with her arms crossed, although she seemed very pleased with herself.

Omari looked uncertain.

Tarina's eyebrows wrinkled. "Oh, c'mon, Omari. I'm not going to hurt you or anybody else. You said you wanted to have some fun, right? Well, that's what I'm trying to do."

"B-But...what if I mess up or something? What if Haku is mad or- or...I'm just not a good mischief maker, okay?!" Omari blurted.

"Well, I can make you into a mischeif maker."

"No! We'll get in trouble!" Omari protested.

Tarina sneered over at her. "Chicken."

"I'm not a chicken!" Omari cried, slightly let down by Tarina's words. "I'm not afraid to play little pranks on our friends! Honest!"

"Then prove it and do this with me." Tarina said.

"But...but..." Omari started to stammer.

At that point, Tarina covered her ears and gleefully singing out loud how Omari was a little frightened chicken, which enraged Omari.

"You're so immature!" Omari cried, hoping that the supossed-to-be-insult would shut Tarina up.

Tarina probably heard that, but she just kept on smiling and singing. "Omari's a chicken, Omari's a chicken! A little baby chicken!..."

"FINE!" Omari screamed out, making Tarina stop singing so she could listen. "Did you hear me, Tarina! I said, FINE! I'll play along with whatever immature jokes you'll pull on Zabuza and Haku. But, if they find out about us and get mad, then I'm telling Haku that you made me do it!"

Tarina took her hands off of her ears and triumphantly beamed at Omari. "Good enough for me!"

"Yeah, I hope you're happy..." Omari grumbled.

Tarina squealed and hugged her. "Yaaay! We're gonna have SO much fun today!"

Omari groaned.

_**...45 Minutes Later...**_

_**...In Haku and Zabuza's Hideout...**_

Haku sat on the living room couch, reading a children's book. It was a pretty decent day. Zabuza didn't shove him off on some mission or to tend to old Gato's petty needs. The weather was pretty decent. Zabuza's mood was pretty decent. The book he was reading was decent. Nothing spectacular, but...well, decent. He was very content.

The mood he was in was content, but there was a trace of sadness in there as well. At any time, something could go very wrong. Decent moods like this only came once in a blue moon. Who knew when he would feel so content and relaxed ever again? Who knew if he would ever feel this relaxed again in his life?

"Huh...might as well enjoy it while you have it..." Haku mumbled to himself, shrugging.

Just then, Zabuza came into the room with a hot cup of something and the _Hidden Mist Daily. _He sat down in his chair and started to read it without acknowledging the fact that Haku was there at all. He didn't even glance at him. Nonetheless, this was a good sign in Haku's point of view. It meant that nothing was wrong and Zabuza was content as well as he, so Haku didn't dare to bother with him.

Although Haku would have appreciated a little affection, greeting, or at least some acknowledgement once in a while, but what could you do? Zabuza was Zabuza.

Haku's ears perked as he heard a sudden rustle in the bushes from outside. And he was almost certain it wasn't a cute little rabbit or a squirrel. It sounded like a person. He sat near the ajar window, which meant that whatever had rustled was close to him. He shuddered. What if it was an intruder?

Another rustle.

"Z-Zabuza-san..." Haku shuddered, starting to ease up from his seat. "I-I think there's something lurking outside of our hideout!" He said in a hushed whisper.

Zabuza merely grunted, not glancing away from his paper nor at Haku.

"Z-Zabuza!" Haku cried weakly, jumping out of our chair. "Aren't you going to do something about it!? It sounded like a person!"

"Well, then if it's a person, then go kill it."

Haku furtively gave Zabuza an annoyed glare (but first making sure Zabuza wasn't paying attention) before he sighed and started walking towards the door to see who was lurking around.

Just as soon as he was about to open the door, there was a sudden sharp knock. "Eeep!" Haku yelped, jumping back from the door slightly.

"_Huuugh_..." Zabuza sighed loudly, putting his hands to his head. "Just answer the door, boy." He grunted, although it was quite an unusual thing for someone to come knocking on the door at this time of the day. Or at all. _Uugh...if this is Gato, then I'm seriously gonna kill 'em! There's no missions today!_

Little Haku gulped before reaching out and slowly opening the door. "H-Hello?"

A strange red haired young woman smiled at him. "Hi!!"

Haku jumped back and grimaced at the girl's jumpiness. "Ah- uh...who...who is this?" He asked nervously, as if he was on the phone with a mysterious person rather than being face-to-face with an unfamiliar girl with big, strange, really curly red pigtails and a pink frilly dress. Although the look in her sparkling eyes seemed weirdly familiar, her dress and hair was too distracting.

"Don't you know me?"

"...No."

"I'm your landlady!" The red-haired girl shouted in disapproval, shooting the uncomfortable Haku a stern look. "You SHOULD be able to recognize me by now! Your rent has been overdue for months!"

"Uuuh-uhh..." Haku stammered, not knowing what to say.

"Wait a minute!" Zabuza stood from his chair, throwing down his paper and standing up from his chair. "We don't have a landlady! We own this property! Is this some kind of scam or something?! Because if it is, you're doing a pretty crappy job of it!"

"What kind of person do you take me for?!" The 'landlady' yelled disapprovingly, causing Haku to shy away from the young woman nervously and stand alongside Zabuza. "You haven't payed the rent for over a year! Now I think it's about time!"

"What are you, some kind of psychopath?!" Zabuza yelled back. "H-How did you even fnd this hideout?! Who ARE you?!"

"I'm your landlady!" The woman exploded her frustrated expression mirroring Zabuza's. "I know where you live because I OWN this property! I live right underneath this hideout! You're the psychopath!"

"I-..." Zabuza started to scream that nobody lived underground beneath their hideout, but if he didn't play along, then he would be arguing with this crazed lady all day long. He just wanted to relax. Zabuza sighed. "Look, Miss...Landlady, I'll pay the rent as soon as possible."

"That's what you said the last time I was here!"

"Look, I'll pay the rent when it's ready! Goodbye!" Zabuza screamed in frustration, finally slamming the door shut. Sighing angrily, he turned back to little Haku, who shrugged and looked slightly disturbed from the experience.

Zabuza just looked at Haku. "See, Haku, you gotta know how you deal with these people. Don't argue, and just..."

Another knock at the door.

Screaming out in frustration, Zabuza swung open the door once again to tell the strange imposter off. "I told you already! I own this property and that's never going to change, you psychopathic halfwit! I'm never paying you a cent, you got that?! Now leave me alone or else I'll-" He suddenly stopped and his eyes widened at the sight of who it was.

"Is there a problem, Zabuza?" Gato's eyes narrowed in his employee's direction.

"Wh-What?! No. I mean-...I can explain. Did you just see that crazy lady out there, with the big hair and stuff?" Zabuza started to stammer, in shock.

"What the heck are you yammering about?" Gato asked furiously, then closed his eyes in frustration. He pushed his glasses up further and sighed. "Just...nevermind. I don't even want to know."

Zabuza's eyebrows wrinkled in embarassment, and he scratched his head. He then decided to change the subject. "So, uh...what brings you here?"

"Well, I've been thinking..." Gato automatically let himself in, shutting the door. This made Haku glare at him (he never really liked the guy much), but Gato ignored Haku and started pacing around the room in a very businesslike manner.

"What?"

"Well..." Gato seemed a bit unsure of how to say what he needed to say. "It seems that you two haven't done a very good job around here lately."

"WHAT?!" Came the roaring reply of Haku and Zabuza.

"Hey, I didn't say you were doing badly. Just...not very good. So, that's why I've decided to cut you off from the business for good, including the rights to this hideout. I'm sorry, Zabuza, but...it's just not working out." Gato said politely, but firmly.

"No! You can't fire us! I-...we always got the job done! I don't understand!" Haku cried, as alarmed as ever.

"That's right! There should be no reason to fire us!" Zabuza yelled.

"Like I said before, I'm sorry." Gato shrugged, strolling towards the door. "But, I just don't have the money to support you guys anymore."

"Why not?! The Land of Waves is practically yours! You have all the money in the world!!" Zabuza cried defensively. "Surely you can work something out-"

"No, he can't!" Another voice boomed from the doorway as the crazy woman from before stormed into the room. "I'm his landlady, too! Gato's entire chain of businesses all belongs to ME! He hasn't payed me any rent either."

"Uaaah!" Gato nervously stammered, stepping back from the danerously approaching woman. The look in her eyes was murderous, enough to make Zabuza shiver.

"Where's...my...money?!" The woman took a big step towards Gato, who had run to Haku and Zabuza's side. "I swear, if I don't get it right this second..." She suddenly whipped out a long sword. "I'LL KILL YOU! ALL THREE OF YOU!"

"Woah, woah, woah! Easy there, lady!" Zabuza stammered nervously, too weirded-out and frightened to draw his own sword. This was just unbelievable. Haku and Gato had already cowered behind Zabuza, shakily whimpering in unison. "Please! W-We'll pay you! Honest! J-Just put that sword down! We don't want trouble!"

"I didn't ask you want you want!" The crazed, now red-eyed woman snarled. "This is about what I want! I want my money! And I also want you to DIE!" She shoved Zabuza aside heavily swung the sword in Gato's direction, automatically decapitating him. Blood spurted everywhere.

The overwhelmed and disgusted Zabuza and Haku screamed at the top of their lungs, clutching onto each other. "Waaaaah-haaah!"

The woman smiled evilly, picking up her bloodied sword again and holding it at the ready.

"Run, Haku! Ruuuun!" Zabuza shrieked, starting to dart away in a different direction.

"Noooo! I'm scared! Take me with you!" Haku whimpered loudly, clutching onto Zabuza's arm and being dragged along with him.

"Muahahaaaaa!" The landlady sounded more like a monster now. Or, more like a mischevious girl pulling a despicible prank on her friends. But, really...what was the difference?

When the headless, bloody body of Gato suddenly moaned, got up, and started walking around, that was when Zabuza started bugging out. He was screaming at the top of his lungs and banging all over the place, being completley unlike himself. The supernatural brought out the absolute worst of people. "Aaaaahhhh! Nooooooo! We're gonna diiiiiie!"

Haku was long gone. He had let go of Zabuza's arm and had ran out of the room, hiding in the largest kitchen cabinet, trembling.

While the headless, still-bleeding Gato was walking around aimlessly, Zabuza was cornered by the super-fast young woman with the sword in seconds.

"Noooooooo! Dooooon't!" Zabuza shrieked, holding his hands out in a sort of protective manner. He had never acted so cowardly in his life. He didn't even know wnhy he was scared or why the lady was chasing him. But, whatever it was, it was just plain scary. Zabuza had dropped his sword nearby while he was freaking out, but there was really no use in trying to get it now.

The young woman merely laughed at him, but in a different way this time. She dropped her sword to the ground and came closer to him. "Don't worry...I wont hurt you."

Zabuza eased away from the freak, eyes starting to widen in angered realization. "Wh-What? B-But you were...wait...you're not...?"

The 'landlady' hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. "I love bothering you so much!"

Zabuza still was confused and shocked for a moment, but then his expression dulled once again and his look became quite stony and aggravated compared to what it had been before. He sighed. "Tarina, you're so corny."

"I know!" Tarina laughed, her strange form from before starting to wear off. Her wild orange hair slowly transformed back into her regular neat blue hair. Her pink frilly dress had finally turned back into her regular black-and-red comfortable outfit. "But I was corny enough to scare you stiff, wasn't I?"

Zabuza mumbled something to himself, and blushed in embarassment. He tried to act casual, but he couldn't. It was impossible. Tarina had just duped him, and now she was affectionatley holding onto him.

Hearing Tarina's mocking voice from the other room, Haku stormed out of the kitchen cabinet and put his hands on his hips. "Wait...so...it was YOU the entire time?"

"It sure was."

"You...you...but...I thought you were going to kill us!" Haku exclaimed, shocked that Tarina was actually the one who had come up with the entire bizarro plan to bother them/weird them out, and then scare them half to death.

Tarina smiled sweetly yet had a very sarcastic leer in her eyes as she let go of Zabuza. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Have fun with it?! But we-!! And...wh-what about Gato?!" Haku stammered out in confusion, pointing to the still headless, bloody Gato who was timidly standing behind Tarina.

Haku and Zabuza gasped as the headless tyrant slowly transformed back into the regular, clean body of a very small and embarassed Omari. Omari turned to the two shocked males, waving slightly. "Uuh...hi."

"So it was you!" Zabuza said, amused yet still aggravated at the same time. "Not a bad actor for such a sweet little girl."

Haku looked skeptical. "Geez, Omari..." He then saw Omari's uncertain blush, and laughed. "It was kinda funny how you mocked Gato like that...he does sound annoying, doesn't he?"

Omari shrugged, looking down and blushing. It felt good to fool and scare people, but she didn't feel much like herself.

"See?! I told you you wouldn't mess up! It was perfect." Tarina exclaimed to Omari. "You were a natural. The look on 'Gato's' face was priceless."

"No, I was just scared of that sword!" Omari cried. "I thought you were really out to get me or something. You were seriously scary!!"

Tarina laughed. "Yeah..."

"Wait!! So you guys...planned this...just to bother us?" Zabuza asked, shocked.

"Yup."

"Aww, man." Zabuza slapped his hand to his forehead. "Yeah, you guys did it alright. Wow...what a way to ruin a perfect Saturday..." He mumbled to himself.

"Yeah, we're cool like that." Tarina said, which then made herself laugh.

Zabuza rolled his eyes. Omari rolled her eyes.

Haku just blinked and looked all over the place.

"So...did you guys actually want something? Or was that little episode just a way to get attention?" Zabuza asked, arms crossed.

"We didn't want attention or company. We just wanted to annoy you to make you feel uncomfortable and unsafe in your own home because we were bored. It was just on impulse, to be perfectly honest with you." Tarina said innocently, shrugging.

"Hmmph." Zabuza harumphed, quite annoyed now.

"Or, maybe it's just because we like you." Tarina smiled and shrugged again, without a trace of flirtatiousness in her voice.

Haku and Zabuza blushed, and their eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.

"Huuuh?!" Omari blushed, staring up at Tarina in horror. Tarina was being so honest, it was pathetic. She was willing to tell anybody anything about why she did things.

"Well, it's true!" Tarina said, as if telling somebody things like this was perfectly normal. "When outgoing girls have crushes on boys, they usually like to bother them. C'mon, Omari, don't look so surprised. It's called flirting, and we all know it. It's probably why you decided to join me in the first place."

That was true, but saying this made Haku and Zabuza feel very funny inside. Especially Zabuza.

Omari just shook her head in disapproval, not even bothering to argue with her any further. It was obvious that she, the seven-year-old, was the one who was mature and could actually keep her mouth shut about most things.

"Well, we had better get going!" Tarina smiled, straightening herself out and patting Omari on the head. "We have a mission coming up soon."

"Wh-What?!" Omari cried. "B-But...yesterday...I thought you said-...I could have been..."

"I know." Tarina shrugged nonchalantly. "I just knew you'd come crawling to me because you were bored. That way, my plans for bothering Haku and Zabuza were assured. Anyway, we DO have a mission in about a half hour."

"B-But..." Omari stammered, eyes widened. She shook herself out of it. "Hey! You tricked me just so I would help you! Big meanie!"

Tarina was just smiling. "Oh, well. I had to do what I had to do."

"Y-You...y'know, you REALLY annoy me sometimes!! Uugh!" Omari said with her fists clenched, which wasn't the first time Tarina had heard this from her.

"Yeah, I'm cool like that."

_"Uuurgh!!"_ Omari looked like she was about to burst.

"Uh-oh..." Tarina backed up a little from Omari, giving her a worried yet amused look. She then turned to Haku and Zabuza, who had been exchanging weird looks the entire time. "Heh...loooks like she's about to blow a fuse. Better leave now. I'll see you later, Haku and Zabuza, kay?" She slightly waved to them as she opened the door and quickly ran off back towards their hideout.

"Uh, sure...bye..." Zabuza gave Tarina a little wave right before she zoomed out of the doorway. Haku just stared.

That left Omari, still red-faced and looking as if she was about to blow up. "Heeeey!" She yelled out the doorway towards the laughing Tarina. "Come back here!! When I catch you, you'll be in so much trouble!!"

Haku laughed, understanding the situation at hand. "So...I guess I'll see you later, then?" He said, knowing that Omari had some business to take care of.

"Uh...yeah." Omari replied shyly, waving to both Haku and Zabuza. She then furiously turned to the open door. Although she was pretty steamed at Tarina for all of the trouble she had caused, that angry feeling was stringed together by pure love. "Heeey! Tarina!! COME BACK HERE!!!" She shrieked angrily as she quickly went out of the hideout and started racing towards her best friend.

_**Aww! I Thought It Was Kind of Cute In The End!!**_

_**Turn to the Next Chapter After Reading This!!!**_

_**Okay, so this definatley wasn't my best work yet, and the joke that Tarina pulled was kind of confusing and weird, but...hey, I tried my best here. Just be absolutley sure to tell me how I did at one point or another, okay? Thanks. :)**_

_**Now!! The moment you've all been waiting for!! For the second part of the FAQ! (yay!)**_

_**Q1- What IS the Kingpin Kunais symbol??**_

_**Answer: In case you don't know or haven't noticed already, the Kingpin Kunais symbol is two kunais crossed diagonally across each other. If you don't know what that means, then try picturing a skull and crossbones without the skull. Then, turn those crossbones into kunais. That's what it looks like.**_

_**Q2- What IS Omari's real name??**_

_**Answer: The answer to that question will just have to wait untill you read the Second Impression. It will somehow tie into the story (I'm not telling you yet). Tough luck!!**_

_**Q3- Where exactly do the Kingpin Kunais wear their ninja headbands if they already have bandannas on?**_

_**Answer: (sighs) Is this really an important question?! Well, just in case it is, then I'll answer it for you. Well, in the Beginning, it is described how Tarina wears a ninja headband on her forehead along with the bandanna. But, nowadays, they wear the ninja headbands as belts to have more room show off their logo.**_

_**Q4- Are Slicer and Zamu related? o.o**_

_**Answer: Probably. They grew up together and they were members of the same clan, so they could be distant cousins or something. I don't know. I've never really thought it out.**_

_**Q5- I thought you said in the beginning that Hikaru, Slicer, Zamu, Omari, and Tarina were from the same clan because of their shadow techniques!! And Hikaru, Tarina, and Omari are definatley not your ordinary ninja. What's up with that?!**_

_**Answer: One word will answer this question: adaptation. Tarina and Hikaru deviously faked that they were part of the same clan as Slicer and Zamu to hide their abilities at first. They could do this because of their innate abilities (of course). Tarina successfully fitted in with Zamu and Slicer and taught Hikaru and eventually Omari to do the same to prevent suspicion.**_

_**Q6- Is Nibbles (the rabbit) a boy or a girl?**_

_**Answer: I know that Nibbles was described as a boy by Omari and myself around Chapter 8, but it's actually a female rabbit. It's that simple. I just made a few typos, that's all. I'll get on that later.**_

_**Q7- How is Cyclone's Hikaru's 'old toady' if he was only born a few weeks ago? It doesn't make sense!!**_

_**Answer: Ahh, now this is an interesting one. Cyclone has actually been living for years in the Spirit Environment, but ages slower than any other creature. It's really hard to explain, but that's just how I set it up. This benefits the shadow slave's masters because their slow aging makes them live longer. So, in human years, Cyclone would be about 4 years old. But due to his premature aging, he is only about the equivalent of 2 weeks old (in reality).**_

_**Q8- Do the Kingpin Kunais wear tight-fitting clothing, like Rock Lee? What about the previous Squad 101??**_

_**Answer: NO!!!! Just because they wear their headbands as belts doesn't mean that they wear tights and stuff (no offense to Rock Lee!). The Kingpin Kunais usually wear loose, casual clothing, like cool sweatpants or jackets. Slicer usually dresses with loose fitting-clothing, but has a brutish appearance despite the fact that he's good looking. He just doesn't like to show it. Omari dresses similar to Tarina, usually casual stuff with lots of pockets, but now Tarina has only taken a liking to different colored robes since she's a ghost (like Haku and Zabuza). Zamu dresses accordingly to the weather and situation, as always. While Kamichi was on the team, he mainly wore dark purple clothing with khaki-colored kunai holders to match his bandanna, but now he wears a lighter blue to match his ninja headband (which he currently wears upon his forehead).**_

_**Answer 2: Squad 101 seemed very much like a present-day gang (as you all should know). Toshiro sort of dressed like Kamichi, but in different colors and a '101' symbol on his jacket. Masakaru dressed similar to Toshiro's outfit, but usually wears button-up stuff. Kouki dresses in a black or purple cloak all of the time with casual clothes underneath, but that's changed now. And Midori usually dresses neatly, but never really wore skirts or dresses. She's usually found dressing in baby pink clothing. I don't know where she found her pink headband, but she now wears a baby pink beanie with a Hidden Mist forehead protector attached (WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY FOR ME TO EXPLAIN ALL OF THAT?!)**_

_**More FAQ Coming Up Soon As The Story Progresses.**_

_**Thanks for Reading, and Try To Leave a Review If You Can. Keep Checking Back For More:)**_


	32. Extra Stories: 3: Haku and Zabuza

_**...Extraneous Additions: 3: Haku and Zabuza...**_

_**:) Ahh, there's nothing like getting back to the basic story of little Haku and Zabuza. I'm sure all of these new rogue ninja characters and excitement makes some readers constantly wanting more updates on THEM, but we still have to include the people who are the reason we came here in the first place. For Haku and Zabuza!! They haven't been around in the story for long because my original plot tuned out of Haku's story and into the Kingpin Kunais' story, but the Second Impression's plot does include him. I have to say that most of the Second Impression's plot has to with Hikaru, Tarina, and some of Kamichi. Also, alot of new characters will be involved, making a total of 26 characters being involved in the story altogether (including the animals and such). That's basically who the plot circles around, but others will definatley be involved. Just wanted to keep you updated on that.**_

_**This chapter is a very short one, but it took a while to think out. I've decided to cancel the other Extraneous Additions and hold them off untill the end of the Second Impression. And if you happen to be reading this chapter on the night it's released, then the first chapter of the Second Impression is probably out NOW.**_

_**The Second Impression's chapters will come flying at you like you've never seen chapters come out before. Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Second Impression are already made; they just need editing. But I will not release them untill Extraneous Additions is all done (basically after this one). After you read this, make SURE you check for the Second Impression: A Rogue Ninja's Purpose. It should be out already.**_

_**I've been planning to do this particular plot in the Haku Chronicles set, but I decided not to after all. This plot included in First Impressions would be much better, in my opinion.**_

_**I really don't have much more to say other than the fact that I've got a new computer and I'm starting to get used to it, which means...(drum roll)...FASTER CHAPTER RELEASES! WOO!**_

_**Happy Reading (and REVIEWING!!!):)**_

Haku was peacefully resting in his comfortable, good-sized bed. It was a Sunday morning, and Zabuza had said that their mission for that day would not come up untill the early afternoon, so Haku was able to sleep in about a half-hour. He had also said that the mission was going to take place in their own hideout for that day. Haku wondered what it could be, but didn't dare question it to Zabuza's face. Haku was still a little queasy around Zabuza, after all (despite him being around Zabuza for almost a year). But, Haku had good reasons for being nervous. Zabuza was one muscular and tough guy. He never seemed to be in the mood to put up with Haku's childish optimism and simple curiosities.

It was that time of morning where Haku woke up, was tired, wanted to go back to sleep, but knew he shouldn't because he'd wake up late and grumpy. Haku finally decided to jump out of bed and get ready for the day while he could. Zabuza would probably get him up soon, anyway.

Haku stretched and sighed tiredly, forcing his stiff-feeling body out of his bed. Haku stood, scratched his unruly bed-head of hair, and grabbed his clothes out of his closet. He then walked out of his room to the bathroom using that familiar sulky, 'I-just-got-outta-bed' posture.

After he had finished washing up and getting all dressed and ready for the day, the now recharged Haku skipped to the living room, where Zabuza sat in his regular chair, staring at the newspaper.

Zabuza took a quick glance at the eight-year-old who now sat nearby him. Haku took this opportunity to flash his master a polite, 'good-morning' smile, but Zabuza didn't respond, as always. He went back to reading the paper. This didn't put Haku down. Sure, Zabuza was pretty blunt and ignored Haku alot, but it was only part of the training. Zabuza had once warned Haku of his general attitude and failure to show affection, and Haku had perfectly understood it.

And yet...Haku wished so much that he could have a little affection from _somebody. _Zabuza made it as if all rogue ninja sensei's were supossed to teach their students with a cold-hearted air about them at all times. Tarina sure wasn't like that. Sure, Tarina was all-business on the training feild, but treated Omari like a sister and a best friend at home. Not to mention, Omari turned out to be a well-trained young ninja. Haku was sometimes a bit jealous of Omari and Tarina's close friendship, but what could you do? Besides, Haku saw Tarina once in a good while and Tarina treated him like a respected friend as well.

But maybe once in a good while was just not enough for Haku.

Haku wanted to strengthen he and Zabuza's student-teacher bond. He wanted to become better friends. It almost seemed as if he didn't even know Zabuza as somebody close whom he could trust. Haku needed the friendship. He needed somebody to talk to all of the time.

For some strange reason, Haku really hoped that this stay-at-home mission would somehow help he and Zabuza's friendship. It was one of the first missions where Haku didn't have to do all of the dirty work, after all. They were in this together.

Finally.

_**...A Few Hours Later...**_

"Where is he?!" Zabuza started pacing around the room impatiently. "Gato better hurry up and get over here so we can get this stupid mission over with. This doesn't even make any sense!! How can we go on a mission if we're not going anywhere?! What can we possibly do that would require staying at home?! Nothing, I tell you!!"

"Well, it's bound to be simple," Haku said optimistically. "I mean, Gato DID say it was a C-ranked mission. It'll probably be no trouble at all for us. I mean, maybe it'll be fun."

"Fun?! Hah! Don't make me laugh, boy. Missions are almost always serious, bloody jobs that never pay enough. Everybody who's not a fool or a kid knows that. They only call it missions so it wont make the little brats get scared and feel important and motivated."

"So...you're saying it wont be fun?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Haku." Zabuza grumbled, laying back in his chair and closing his eyes.

Haku wanted to talk to Zabuza to keep himself company. To remind himself that somebody was there for him. Something, anything. It was all he needed. Here he was again, desperate for something that would start a conversation. It was so embarassing. He always felt so stupid. But...it was at least worth a try, right?

"Uh...so...Zabuza..." Haku choked, twiddling his thumbs.

"Huuuh." Zabuza groaned, not opening his eyes.

"Read anything interesting in the paper today?"

"No." Zabuza mumbled.

"...Oh. Well, that's okay, then. There's always tomorrow and the next day, right?" Haku said, forcing out a small, optimistic giggle.

"Maybe. Heaven knows if I'll live to see it," Grumped Zabuza. "Now leave me alone. I didn't get much sleep last night."

Haku sighed loudly and gave Zabuza a frustrated, deprived look. "You don't like me, do you? I mean, why wont you ever talk to me? Ask me how I'm doing? Bond with me and talk about life like good friends do? Anything!" This was probably the boldest thing he had ever said to Zabuza. 

Zabuza growled, "This is the real shinobi world, Haku. Not a sewing club. Now please just-"

"Well, we can sew together sometime, can't we? There's nothing wrong with that, right?" Haku asked hopefully. "I mean, first we gotta learn _how_ to do it, but..."

"Kid, stop being so upset just because I wont spend time with you. I'm your battle partner, not your father. You're my tool, not my friend. I'm sorry, Haku, but I just don't have any interest in little kids. Not at all. Maybe we can get along better when you're older. Just not right now. You're too small and annoying to like...no offense." Zabuza grumbled.

"Oh." Haku looked down, sighing. There was just no use. Zabuza just didn't like him right now. He didn't want to talk to him.

_Who do I think I am, anyway? I'm not his friend. I'm his tool. _Haku thought sadly. Zabuza had said that there might be hope for him when he was older and less 'annoying', but Haku doubted it. Maybe staying at home with Zabuza to complete a mission wouldn't be rewarding after all...

There was a sudden, sharp knock at the door. "Zabuza! Zabuzaaa! Open the door! I'm comin' in!" An annoying, scratchy voice rang from outside.

"Okay! I'm coming..." Zabuza grumbled tiredly as he stood up and slowly walked to the wooden door that led to the unwanted visitor.

Zabuza swung open the door and glared down at Gato, who then shoved right past Zabuza and glanced around at the hideout with a critical eye, hands on his hips.

Zabuza turned away from the still open door to face Gato. "Where have you been?! We've been waiting for hours!"

"Ahh, quit your whinin'!" Gato snapped at Zabuza, making Haku shake with annoyance and fury. "I'm here now, aren't I? So what's it matter?!"

"Well-...ugh. Whatever." Zabuza sighed, catching himself before he shot back a nasty reply. He ran his hand through his hair and closed his eyes. "Alright, Gato. You're here. Now tell us about that mission."

"Yeah. Why do we have to stay here?" Haku asked, his eyebrows raised. "It just seems so unusual. I mean, how can we go on a mission if we're not going anywhere?"

Gato leered over at his two confused employees and smirked evilly. He pushed his dark glasses up past the bridge of his nose. "Heh...I'm sure you guys are gonna love this..."

"Well, what is it?!" Zabuza demanded.

"You two...are going to _babysit_!" Gato announced grandly in a high-pitched, giggly voice.

"...Huh?" Both Haku and Zabuza were dumbfounded.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm sending one of my best employees on a special mission that onl;y ahe is capable of completing, but she has a kid to take care of at the same time. I can't risk any distractions, so...that's why I'm putting _you _in charge of it!" Gato said.

"...Huh?" Both still looked confused.

Gato then stepped out of the open doorway, reached outside of the hideout, and brought in a small, occupied baby carrier. He heaved it out of the doorway and plopped it in front of Haku and Zabuza, who were both staring down at the carrier in awe. "See?"

"It's a baby," Zabuza said stupidly.

"Aww! He's so sweet!" Haku's eyes instantly lit up as he clasped his hands together against his chest in an adoring manner.

"Mm-hmm." Gato nodded with his arms folded. "And you two are going to watch this baby as a team untill the mother returns for him. Got that?"

"Weee!" Little Haku plopped down in front of the baby carrier and beamed excitedly at the small sleeping child. "I love babies!! This is gonna be so much fun!!" He squealed.

Zabuza twitched as he stared down at the infant, who looked to be about five or six months old. "Uh...uh..."

"Something wrong, Zabuza?" Gato raised an eyebrow.

"Of course there is!!" Zabuza exploded. "We can't take care of some little runt for the whole day! We're not a babysitting service! We have no idea how to take care of babies!"

Gato dug in his pocket for an instruction list (written by the baby's mother) and casually tossed it down to Zabuza. "There. Now you do."

"But-!! But-!!" Zabuza sputtered desperately. "We can't-"

"Oh, yeah. And you'll need this, too." Gato reached out of the door again and pulled out a pink diaper bag. "This has the supplies needed to fulfill all of the baby's requests."

"How will we know when he's requesting something?" Zabuza grumbled.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll know when the time comes." Gato cackled.

"Uuh!" Zabuza cried out in frustration. "Gato! What were you thinking?! I can't do this! I know nothing about infants! Why didn't you choose Tarina to do this?! She's much better at these kinds of things!"

Gato grinned, his arms still folded. "I know she is. Tarina and her squad are _much_ more capable of doing something like this, which is exactly why I chose _you_ to do it."

"Huh?!"

"The Kingpin Kunais are much more responsible workers than you two hooligans. They will complete any kind of task I throw at them at any given time limit, while you two just come and go to work as you please, which is not acceptable. You need to learn to be more responsible and complete your tasks better. This particular task is something that you can't just walk out of. And hopefully, it will teach you something. You _must_ take care of this baby, or else both the mother and I will be _very_ upset." Gato said in a warning tone.

"But-"

"I'm paying you triple."

Zabuza sighed. "But...ah, whatever. What's the use?" He groaned to himself, his hand slapped to his head. At least some good money could come out of this. "Alright, Gato. We'll take care of the little runt, okay?"

Gato grinned. "Excellent." He said as he contentedly strolled towards the door. "The mom will be back to pick him up in a few hours."

"Whatever..." Zabuza grumbled. When Gato was turned around, Zabuza made a mocking face in his direction from behind his mask.

_"...Blaa!"_ Haku stuck out his tongue in Gato's direction, only because he hated him.

"Hah. See you guys later! Have fun!" Gato cockily called out with a little wave from ahead. He then stepped out of the hideout door and slammed it shut.

Zabuza sighed.

"Look. It says here that the baby's name is Yumiko." Haku said neutrally as he picked up the baby list and scanned it.

"How quaint," Zabuza snorted. He then straightened himself out and started to walk into the next room. "Well, if you need me, I'll be sleeping."

Haku's eyebrows wrinkled. "Uh...Sir?"

Zabuza turned to glare at him. "What is it?"

"Y-You're just gonna leave me here with the baby and go to sleep?" Haku asked worriedly. "I know you need your rest, Zabuza, but...I don't think I can do this all by myself."

"Why? You can do everything else on your own. That's what I taught you to do, isn't it?" Zabuza asked.

"Well, yeah, but..." Haku's eyes grew puppyish as he looked down at the sleeping baby. "This is a child's life we have on our hands. You can't neglect the needs of a child. It wouldn't be fair."

"Yeah, so...?"

"We have to be in on this together," Haku said with finality. "We both have to help take care of the baby. This could be the hardest mission yet, and I don't think I can do this by myself."

Zabuza groaned. "Oh, come on..." He grumbled in a tired voice.

"Please, Sir? Can't we just work together for once?" Haku pleaded.

"...Ugh. Fine." Zabuza harrumphed, backing up from the doorway and plopping back down on the couch, his chin rested against his hand. "You win. I'll help babysit the little runt...but I wont like it."

"That's the spirit, Sir!" Little Haku beamed optimistically as he reached for the diaper bag. "You'll see, Zabuza. This wont be so bad, I promise."

"Yeah, okay." Zabuza grunted.

_**...One and A Half Hours Later...**_

"Waaahh-haaah!" Baby Yumiko suddenly started shrieking from his carrier.

Zabuza slapped his hands to his ears and groaned. "I guess this is what Gato meant when the baby is 'requesting something'..."

"Oops! He's awake!" Haku snapped to attention from across the room while fixing a bottle of formula that was provided in the diaper bag. He put down what he was doing and rushed over to the baby carrier, and knelt down in front of it. He just stared. "Uuh...Zabuza...how do I unbuckle this thing?"

"Huh?" Zabuza removed his hands from his ears and looked down at Haku.

"The baby's secured inside of the carrier. I don't know how to get him out." Haku said worriedly.

"Isn't there a button or something?" Zabuza asked.

"...It's stuck!"

"Well, push harder!" Zabuza demanded loudly, which made the relatively chunky baby cry even harder, probably frightened by Zabuza's deep voice.

"I...can't!" Haku cried, pushing onto the red button with all of his might. "It's...stuck! How are we suppossed to pick him up?!"

"I know how we'll get him out..." Zabuza whispered furiously. He whipped out his guillotine sword and went to where Haku and the baby were.

"S-Sir!! Get that sword away from him! That's hazardous!" Haku yelped, alarmed. "You're not suppossed to have sharp things around a baby! I think..."

"Ehh, shut up. I'm gonna get him out, aren't I?" Zabuza grumbled as he carefully held the sword near the carrier. He grasped the straps locking Yumiko inside, pulled them forward, and gently sliced them against the sword. The straps were instantly broken, and the baby was now able to get out.

"See?" Zabuza said as he put his sword away.

Haku picked up the still whipering baby and started to cradle him. "But Sir...wont the mother be awfully angry when she finds out that her carrier buckle's all ripped?"

"Told you we should have started a sewing club," Zabuza hooted in a mocking, sarcastic tone. "We could spend more quality time together _and _fix carrier straps."

Haku shot him a furtive glare, then sighed in relief as baby Yumiko finally calmed down and started to close his eyes again. He was too busy cradling the baby to notice that Zabuza had snuck out of the room with his sword.

Moments later, an earsplitting grinding sound came from the other room, causing Haku to cringe and Yumiko's big eyes to pop open. Yumiko started to wail, and Haku gasped.

"Zabuza! What are you doing?! Where is that noise coming from?!" Haku yelled into the other room, frantically yet gently swaying the baby all over the room.

"What do you mean? I'm sharpening my sword! Duh!" Came Zabuza's gravelly, aggravated reply from his bedroom.

"But Sir! You've woken up the baby!! You need to stop!" Haku called as the sword-sharpener grinded on and the infant just kept on screaming.

The sword-sharpening noises finally stopped and Zabuza reluctantly stomped back into the room, arms folded. "Hmph. Stupid baby."

"Sir, it's not his fault!" Haku frowned. "He didn't know what that noise was or how to control himself! Besides, he was sleeping peacefully. I mean, _you_ don't like it when _I_ wake _you_ up, do you?"

Zabuza didn't respond. He just glared at Yumiko, who blinked, and then grinned at him.

"Aww..." Haku cooed softly. "He's smiling at you, Zabuza. I think he likes you..."

"Ugh." Zabuza shivered in disgust, plopping himself back down on the couch. "I hate kids...too much work."

Haku did a weak half-smile, then sighed as he sat down in a chair with the giddy baby. Sometimes, _Zabuza_ was the one who was too much work.

"Aahh...ahwowaa!" The baby suddenly gave a small cry from Haku's lap.

"Huh?" Haku looked down, his eyebrows raised. "What is it?" He asked the baby in a lulling voice.

"Mmph!" Yumiko bit down on Haku's nearby hand in a hungry manner. This, of course, did not hurt because the baby had no teeth.

Haku chuckled. "You're already hungry, huh? Hm. The note _did_ say to feed you a little while after you got here...okay, then!" He smiled, standing up with the baby. He walked over to Zabuza. "Here, can you hold him for a minute while I get the bottle?"

"Whyyy?" Zabuza whined.

"I need to get the bottle ready for him. Don't worry, I'll take him right back." Haku shrugged, carefully holding Yumiko out for Zabuza to take.

"No! Why can't you just put it on the floor?!" Zabuza cried out, seemingly disgusted that Haku would ever place such a vile request upon him.

"I can't just put Yumiko on the floor!" Haku exclaimed disapprovingly. "He seems comfortable in my arms, and he'll probably stay quiet if you hold him. If I put him down, it'll probably upset him. Then, he wont want to eat."

"Oh yeah?" What makes you so sure of that, huh?" Zabuza asked, hands on his hips.

"It's common sense, Sir."

"Oh, really? So, you're saying I have no common sense?"

"...Please just take the baby."

"Whatever..." Zabuza grumbled, finally giving in. He held his big arm out casually, ready to reluctantly accept the child. "Put it here." He abruptly stepped forward.

Haku just stood there, holding the baby against his chest in a defensive manner. His eyes were widened.

"What?! Give it here!" Zabuza guestured with his fingers for Haku to hand Yumiko over.

"You can't take a baby like that. Put your arms the way mine are and I'll _gently hand _him over to you." Haku instructed sternly, holding little Yumiko away from Zabuza's reach.

"Alraaight, alraaiight!" Zabuza sighed in an irratated tone, rolling his eyes and following Haku's manual instructions. "Here, like this?"

"Yep!" Haku said. "That's exactly it, Zabuza! Now, gently take the baby the way I showed you and make sure not to jerk him around or anything, okay? Here...just like this...gently...there! You see? You've got him!" Haku said as the baby was finally freed from his hands.

Zabuza looked miserable as he gently swayed the cooing baby in a circle motion, sighing. "Uuugh...just hurry up and get the formula!"

"Yessir!" Haku replied quickly as he scuttled over to the other side of the room where the bottle still sat. He started to ready the bottle and come back to where Zabuza was. "Okay, I'm coming!!" He said as he was fastening the cap.

"Here! Just hurry up and take him!" Zabuza thrust the baby in Haku's direction.

"Waaaaiit!" Haku cried worriedly. "I can't do both! Take the bottle for a second and I'll take Yumiko-"

"No! I can't stand this anymore! Ewwugh! This runt's drooling all over my shoulder, and it feels disgusting!!" Zabuza wailed desperately after putting the baby back against his shoulder.

_"Well, maybe you should try putting a shirt on once in a while..."_ Haku muttered under his breath, very agitated by Zabuza's failure to cooperate.

"What was that?!" Zabuza snapped angrily.

"Nothing..." Haku sighed as he walked forward. "Here, just let me put the cap back on the baby's bottle and I'll take him for you..."

Out of pure cruelty, Zabuza smirked and stuck his foot out for Haku to trip on. Haku instantly cried out and clumsily fell forward as Zabuza stepped back, the sticky baby formula spilling out all over the place.

"Oof!" Haku grunted as he landed on his face with a _thump_, empty bottle in hand. He opened his eyes and gasped at the milky baby food spilled all over the floor. "Oooh, no!"

"Ooouu...!" Zabuza exclaimed childishly, pointing down at the mess at his feet (which had also gone all over his sandals). "Baby's gonna be maaaad! You're so klutzy, Haku!" He scolded, trying not to crack up.

Haku's eyes began to water as he sat up. Obviously, he took Zabuza's cruel prank as a klutzy move that was all his fault. "Oh, no...I...I...what have I done...?" He sniffled.

"Oh, well!" Zabuza singsonged, shrugging as he forcibly placed the baby back into the crying Haku's arms. "It was your fault, anyway. That makes it _your_ responsibility."

Little Haku just looked down at the baby. "I'm sorry I spilled your food, Yumiko..." He sulked.

"Well, Haku!" Zabuza smiled triumphantly behind his mask. "Looks like you've got a baby to deal with _and _a floor to wipe up. _I've_ got some sandals to clean."

"I...I...okay, Zabuza." Haku murmured sadly as he stood with the now whimpering baby. "You go clean your sandals. I'll figure something out..."

"Well, if you insist!" Zabuza said in a fake concerned tone, shrugging as he started walking away with his sopping wet shoes leaving footprints all around the hideout.

Haku just stared sadly as he walked away.

_"Mmph...aahh...aaahhh!" _Yumiko started to fuss, waving his clenched little fists all over the place. "Wwah-...waaahh..." He started to grunt and his bottom lip was sticking out.

Haku's eyes widened. "Uh...uh...oh, no...this isn't good...I-I'll figure something out for you, Yumiko. I promise! You'll have food soon...d-don't worry! Now I just need to find a way to get some..."

"Waaaaahh!" The baby started to shriek loudly and squirm convulsively in Haku's shaky arms.

"Uh...oh, uh..." Haku wildly looked around, and sighed when he saw that Zabuza's door was slammed shut. He could just barely hear some faint snoring in the distance, and saw that an empty ear-plug wrapper was laying in the hallway.

The baby continued to scream.

Haku swayed the wailing infant, tears filling to his eyes as well. He really needed Zabuza's help. "It's okay...don't cry...whooa!" He yelped as he nearly tripped on a puddle of spilled formula. Haku _could_ manipulate the liquid formula back into the bottle again, but the floor was too dirty and probably contaminated the formula already. Haku cared too much to let Yumiko get sick, even though he'd probably never see him again.

This sudden jerky movement from Haku made the baby bawl even louder.

"Ugh...I can't risk tripping again with the baby in my hands. I've gotta clean this mess up." Haku said to himself as he gently placed Yumiko down onto his back. Haku pulled out a medium-sized, soft toy from the diaper bag and placed it on Yumiko's belly.

Yumiko made a grab for the toy in an excited manner, but missed. He ended up knocking it off of his stomach and the plushie then landed in the formula mess that Haku was about to clean up. The baby cried even harder than before, tears streaming down his bright red face.

"Oh, no! Now it's all wet!" Haku cried. He made a grab for the toy, but slipped and fell face-first onto the wet floor once again. Haku had to resist the urge to scream out in frustration, but he kept his cool. He picked up the soiled toy and tossed it aside, grabbed a few tissues in his pocket, and hurriedly started to clean, trying to ignore poor Yumiko's screams.

"Aww...if only Zabuza were here...he could have run to the store and bought some formula!" Haku groaned to himself. "But he was too selfish...I guess he really doesn't care about me..." He sulked as he scrubbed away.

Five minutes later, Haku was finished with the floor. The baby was still crying. Haku picked Yumiko up from the couch and gently bounced him around. "Nah...this is all stupid Gato's fault. He put us on this _humiliating _mission...he probably set it up on purpose to torture us!" He whispered angrily to himself.

When the baby's hungry screams grew desperate, tired, and scratchy (which was making Haku very, very nervous), Haku finally decided to hum softly into the baby's ear. Yumiko's shrieks started to falter a bit after hearing Haku's soothing voice, and he eventually stopped and fell fast asleep. Haku smiled weakly and sighed in relief. The baby would not stay asleep for long. He needed to find more food, and fast.

Haku gently set the sleeping baby Yumiko down on a couch cushion, grabbed the diaper bag, and fumbled through diapers, wipes, a blanket, toys, and a mucus-sucking device (which Haku didn't really feel like touching). No extra baby formula. He had spilled it all.

Haku sighed.

"Mm..." The baby started to moan.

Haku's eyes went huge. "Oh, no...please don't cry...please...just a few more minutes so I can run to the store-...ugh! I can't! Zabuza's sleeping! He can't keep an eye on the baby!" Haku hissed to himself.

_"Uuuhn..." _Yumiko's cheeks turned bright red as his lip began to quiver, his eyelids tightening...

"Aah!" Haku yelped as he rushed over to the squirmy baby and picked him up. "Shh...d-don't get upset...it's okay..."

In seconds, then baby was bawling. Again. Haku groaned.

_**...Meanwhile...**_

The ear plugs were not helping one bit.

Zabuza sighed as he heard Haku's worried, useless assurances towards the baby over the baby's wailing. He knew he could help. He knew he _should_ help.

But he just couldn't.

Zabuza now lay on his bed, head buried inside of a pillow. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to prove kindhearted to Haku and help out, and he didn't want to deal with Yumiko. Babies aggravated him, and he never _ever_ wanted to have one, even if it was with Tarina.

"Zabuza! Do we have any milk!?" Zabuza just barely heard Haku yell from the other room.

"No. We're all out." Zabuza replied back from his bed. He sighed again. He just didn't know what to do...being nice to Haku and helping out with the baby just seemed too awkward. This _mission_ was awkward. And unexpected.

Zabuza wasn't the least bit used to teamwork. Especially teamwork with a young acting, cheerful, nature-loving twelve-year-old. It was just too weird.

Zabuza then reflected back on all of those times where Haku had saved Zabuza's neck. The biggest memory was when Haku had boldly jumped out of the bushes and confronted the tracker ninja who had sniped Zabuza. Now _that_ was one dedicated kid. Haku would give anything any day for Zabuza, including respect and even his own life. Zabuza knew that.

The least Zabuza could do in return was to help Haku take care of a screaming infant.

_**...Back Inside of the Living Room...**_

_**...Fifteen Minutes Later...**_

"Bwaah-haah-haah-haaaa!" Yumiko shrieked as Haku now had his hands slapped over his ears, helpless.

There was nothing more Haku could do to stop this baby from crying. He had tried using every other object contained inside of the diaper bag. He had even tried using the mucus-sucker, which proved to be impossible to use due to the baby's constant squirming and screaming. Besides, the baby didn't even sound _that _stuffed up.

"Aw...what'll I do?!" Haku cried, his face buried inside of a nearby pillow. He was close to bawling, himself. This was just so frustrating! "I've tried everything, and the baby screaming like that makes me so nervous!!" He cried. He usually didn't talk to himself this frequently, but now, he was his only hope. If the mother came back and the baby was this shaky and miserable, they would be goners.

There was a sudden rustle at the door. "Haku!! Open the door for me, would you?!"

"Huh?!" Haku's head snapped up from the pillow as he stared at the door in shock. "Z-Zabuza?" He quickly stood and opened up the door.

Sure enough, Zabuza stood at the doorway with a tired yet confident look on his face. Haku looked down to see that his hands were filled with brown paper bags- groceries.

"...Zabuza..?" Haku asked again, as confused as ever. "W-What are you doing out of bed? How did you get to the front, and...what are these grocery bags doing in your hands?"

"Just take the left one and open it." Zabuza grumbled as he stepped inside of the doorway and kicked it shut from ahead.

"Uh...okay..." Haku shot Zabuza a funny look as he accepted the bag and opened it. He gasped and smiled. "The baby formula!! I knew you cared!" He beamed as he quickly ran over to the other side of the room and instantly began preparing it for the baby.

"Yeah, yeah...whatever." Zabuza rolled his eyes as he set the other bag down onto the couch. "Your lucky I'm not _that_ hardhearted. Now, just feed that stupid baby. And _don't_ spill the formula your way over to the couch."

Haku giggled, but decided not to say anything more. He finished preparing the new bottle of formula and rushed over to the couch, giving the formula one quick shake before offering it to Yumiko.

Yumiko instantly stopped crying and blinked as Haku pushed the bottle up to his mouth. "Mmph? Mm mph!" Yumiko opened his mouth and began sucking on the bottle.

Zabuza snorted, and Haku laughed gleefully.

Suddenly, the baby spit out all of the food he had taken in and started to wail again.

"Wwaahh!" Haku screamed, slapping his hands to his head as he took the bottle away. "Wh-What now?!"

"I-I don't know!" Zabuza yelled back, just as surprised.

"Aww...don't cry!" Haku cooed, picking up the baby. His eyes widened as soon as his hands came in contact with Yumiko, and he put him back down on the couch. "Uuh..."

"What?" Zabuza asked.

"The baby feels...wet." Haku said uncertainly with an eyebrow raised, as he grabbed a baby wipe from the diaper bag and washed whatever got on his hands.

"Maybe it was just spit-up." Zabuza shrugged.

Haku lifted the still whimpering baby again and sniffed him. He looked disappointed. "...Oh. So _that_ was why Yumiko was crying..."

"What?! Why?!" Zabuza demanded.

"He peed in his diaper, and we didn't even notice or think to change him!" Haku exclaimed, but had a sorry look in his eyes. "He must have been so uncomfortable!"

Zabuza screamed out in frustration and slapped himself in the head. "Aargh! And we didn't even need the stupid formula!"

Haku merely smiled as he grabbed a diaper and some wipes from the baby bag and started to change Yumiko's diaper. "Aah, well. It was the thought that counted, Zabuza. You knew it was the right thing to do to help me out, didn't you?"

Zabuza didn't respond. He just glared at the floor.

"Hee hee!" Haku just giggled cheerfully. "You came back to help me! That means we _are_ best friends!"

"Oo-ooo!" Baby Yumiko cooed, finally happy again. He beamed over at Zabuza, who just stared back.

"Little runt," Zabuza grumbled. "He caused us alot of trouble in the past two hours...I hope his mother comes back soon..."

Moments later, there was a sharp knock at the door. Both Haku and Zabuza sighed in relief, exchanging tired smiles.

Haku walked over to the door and answered it while Zabuza gently placed the baby back in the carrier without complaint, hiding the broken straps as best as he possibly could.

A kind-looking young woman stood at the doorway and smiled. She didn't look very lethal or ninja-like, but neither did Haku. "Hello, there. You must be Zabuza."

Haku blushed and smiled back. "Uh, actually, I'm Haku. That's Zabuza, over there." He said, guesturing to where Zabuza and the baby were. He then stepped aside. "Here, you can come in."

"Ah." The mother said as she stepped inside and went over to where her baby was. She smiled at Zabuza, who stood casually to face her. "Thank you very much, Zabuza, for taking care of my little Yumiko while I was on that mission."

"Uh...no problem." Zabuza scratched his head.

"Was he a good baby?" The mother asked.

Zabuza looked puzzled. He had never really had been asked such a 'silly' question before, and had no idea what the mother meant by this, so Haku quickly stepped in.

"He cried a few times, but, uh...he was okay after we changed his diaper. He didn't eat much, though." Haku said as he finished picking up the rest of the baby's belongings and putting them inside of the diaper bag. Haku handed the diaper bag to the mother, and Zabuza handed her the baby carrier.

"Alright, then. Thank you very much. Gato should be arriving shortly with your pay." The woman said politley as she quickly took a glance at her grinning child and started for the door.

"Uh...okay. Thanks." Zabuza mumbled. He obviously wasn't used to having company over or having to actually talk with people.

"It was nice visiting your baby! I hope we can see him again soon. Bye!" Haku waved and beamed over at the woman, just thrilled that this whole monsterous mission was finally over.

"Goodbye! I hope we see you soon as well!" The woman responded happily. She then walked out of the door, shutting it on her way out.

The mission was finally complete.

"Whew! I never knew a little baby could be such hard work!" Haku laughed, plopping down onto the couch in an exausted manner. "I never knew they could cry _so _much!"

"Yup..." Zabuza sighed as he reached for the second grocery bag on the other cushion. "I guess that leaves just one thing to do..."

Haku just looked at Zabuza. "Uh...sleep?"

"Nope." Zabuza said as he pulled the coffee table up to where they both were sitting. Zabuza put the grocery bag on the table, sat down on the couch, and dumped the bag's contents onto the table.

Haku just stared at the colorful materials layed out on the table. "Uh...Sir? Are you feeling okay?"

"Of course I am," Zabuza said, but in a not-too-nice tone. "Now, are we gonna do this or not?"

Haku gasped excitedly and beamed. "Yeeaah!"

Zabuza sighed. He couldn't believe he was about to do this with Haku. "Alright. Let's get that sewing club started."

_**...The End!!...**_

_**:) Okay, I know some of you may found that ending a bit 'corny', but there was really no other way to put it! I thought it was kind of cute myself, but it's really up to you guys whether it's good or not, so...if you can, please leave a little review telling me what you thought of this particular chapter.**_

_**And if you happened to not 'GET' the ending, then I'll tell you: Zabuza is going to make up his meanie-ness with not an ''I'm sorry," but by spending a little time with Haku, which is what Haku had been asking/hoping for all along. I hope you can all get the purpose of that chapter.**_

_**Now!! Time is business! If you're interested in reading what happens to the other characters in a whole different environment/plot, then read The Second Impression: A Rogue Ninja's Purpose. It should be out on Fanfiction by now! Put me on your alerts if you're unsure about all of this, or leave a review and I'll tell you all of the info in the reply. Now go read it!! O.O breathing heavily :)**_

_**Goodbye, and thank you for reading!! This is the end of First Impressions: Haku's Training Days. I really hope you enjoyed it, and I loved writing it. I hope to see you in the Second Impression, my dear readers!!**_


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